Almost half water supply lost in Offaly last year 

Irish Water has confirmed that just under half its water output in Offaly is lost through leakage or unknown mains connections.

The agency released figures that indicate some 45% of its water output in the county was unaccounted for in both 2016 and 2017.

The agency says that 10.8 million litres of water in Offaly was lost each day during 2017, either through leakage, or through unknown water connections. 

This represented a slight increase in the level of unaccounted for water during 2017, with the 2016 figure having stood at 10.6 million litres of water per day. However, in percentage terms, the amount of water lost remains the same at 45% as the level of water being produced also increased from 2016 to 2017 in Offaly.

Irish Water said that sometimes when a leak is fixed it can increase power in taps so people use more water or a leak can occur elsewhere on a main due to increased pressure.

A series of such leaks may result in Irish Water identifying the entire water main for replacement.

In a statement, Irish Water said the leakage levels in Offaly were “reflective of the levels across the country”.

It said it distributes 1.7 billion litres of water every day but almost half of this clean water is lost through leaks nationally.

It has initiated a €500m programme to upgrade Ireland’s water infrastructure from 2017 to 2021.

This work is being carried out through the implementation of a targeted programme of works called the national Leakage Reduction Programme.

Irish Water and Offaly County Council are aiming to reduce leakage and demand to achieve a saving of a saving of 0.54 million litres of water per day in 2018. This equates to the water demand from approximately 950 housing units 

The Leakage Reduction Programme involves a number of different types of work to be carried out across the country, including the Find & Fix Scheme, water mains renewal, shared services connections, backyard services connections, lead service pipe replacement and first fix free schemes.

The Find & Fix scheme involves leak detection crews undertaking surveys using sounding equipment on footpaths and other public areas. If a public side leak is identified, Irish Water will carry out the repairs.