Elaine Keogh
Homes and businesses in Drogheda, Co Louth, and some surrounding areas are without water due to what Irish Water says is “a major burst in a water main”.
In a statement on Monday morning, Irish Water said it had “identified a major burst in a water main in Drogheda and is working with Louth County Council to restore water as quickly as possible to impacted customers.”
“Dedicated water service crews have mobilised and repairs are underway. To minimise the impact on customers, Irish Water and Louth County Council have reconfigured the network in order to allow reservoirs supplying the area to refill. A further update will be provided as repairs progress.”
Speaking about the repair works, Donal Heaney from Irish Water said: “The repairs are being conducted as quickly and efficiently as possible to minimise disruption to the community in Drogheda and restore water for all customers.
“We understand the inconvenience unplanned outages can have on customers and we appreciate your patience as we work to return the water supply to homes and businesses as quickly as possible.”
Drogheda residents have been using social media to detail where the water is off and asking if others know what is happening.
The areas affected include Ballsgrove Estate, Donore Industrial Estate, Trinity Street, Patrick Street, Lourdes, Drogheda Town North, Cord Road, Cross Lane, Ballymakenny Road, Sandyford, North Quay, Termonfeckin, Clogherhead, Termonabbey, Newfoundwell Road, Ballymakenny Road and surrounding areas.
Irish Water said concerned residents can contact its customer care team on 1800 278 278. For further updates are available on the Irish Water website, water.ie.
The disruption comes amid wider supply issues in the network, with homeowners across the State urged to conserve water amid a surge in demand due to warm weather.
Irish Water said it is dealing with outages in parts of north Dublin, as well as Donegal and parts of Kerry where supply is at “critically low levels”.
The company’s head of operations, Tom Cuddy, said holiday resorts where the population has doubled and trebled in the good weather has led to “exceptional demand” exceeding capacity in some areas.
