Irish county to upgrade water systems

Laois County Council in Ireland will invest €9m over the next two years in an effort to upgrade the ageing water network system in the region.

The move will help the county monitor unauthorised and unmetered water access, as well as repair and prevent water wastage and leakage.

The Laois Water Conservation Project has installed water monitoring systems at 109 locations across the county to calculate the flow and pressure of its public water supply.

Laois County Council Services director Michael O’Hora was quoted by LEINSTER Express: "It is most important that the public are convinced that these works have absolutely no relation to the National Domestic Metering Programme."

Laois County Council Water Services engineer Seamus Quinn said that the initiative will help the county monitor water distribution and allow early leak detection.

"Unaccounted-for water is not the same as leaking water, there are other factors such as unauthorised use, unmetered connections and metering calibrations," Quinn added.

"Reducing it will mitigate demand on raw water resources and improve service delivery and water quality to consumers. The estimated unaccounted for water for Laois is 34%. Water conservation is thus key to the sustainable use of our water resources."

The Department of Environment has selected EMR Integrated Solutions for a €289,000 contract to provide monitoring systems, which will be installed by mid-October 2012.

The council will also replace 12km of water mains in the areas of Portlaoise, Mountmellick, Ballyroan and Luggacurran early in 2013, in a €2.3m six-month project, as well as undertaking replacements of other water mains.

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Image: The Laois County Council will replace or repair the aging water system and leakages in the region. Photo: courtesy of User:USchick.