Repair of massive Athlone water leak has helped to stabilise supply

A massive leak near the Battery Heights reservoir in Athlone which resulted in some 600,000 litres of water being lost daily has been repaired, Irish Water has confirmed.

The daily loss of water through the leak was equivalent to the daily domestic water consumption of some 1,500 households in Athlone.
It’s not clear how long the leak was in existence. However, Irish Water repaired the leak towards the end of November last, over two months after it was first identified.
Irish Water, in a statement to the Westmeath Independent, referred to the Battery Heights repair and a comprehensive leakage reduction programme in the town, which it says saved an additional and separate 750,000 litres per day.
It said the two measures “helped to provide a more secure supply in Athlone in the short term.”
Throughout the latter half of 2018 and much of 2019, Athlone suffered regular and persistent water outages.
At the time, it was stated that the annual daily amount of water available in Athlone was some 11.5 million litres. The Battery Heights leak would therefore account to over 5% of the overall water produced in Athlone each day.
In a statement, Irish Water explained the sequence of events regarding the repair of the Battery Heights leak.
“Data from our district meters identified that there was water loss in this area. The leak took some time to pinpoint. Leaks in Athlone can be difficult to locate given the geology of Athlone. Water tends to seep into the ground rather than becoming visible at the surface.
“This leak repair was particularly complex given its location, depth and ground conditions. Irish Water and Westmeath County Council carried out a full assessment of all of the risks involved in carrying out the leak repair while maintaining supply and protecting the reservoir. The repair was successfully completed at the end of November. 
Athlone Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the water savings from both the Battery Heights repair and the overall leakage reduction programme.
It says its figure indicate that the two amounts equate to a saving of over 10% of Athlone’s overall water demand – including business and residential usage.
It said it had been working assiduously behind the scenes on the issue of Athlone’s water supply.
“We are now happy to say – that due to the pressure being put on Irish Water through the Chamber by our members, notably the hospitality and large business sectors, Irish Water are making significant headway in providing a medium term solution to Athlone’s water needs while at the same time addressing the immediate supply issue through leak repairs and other mitigation measures.”
The Chamber said it was confident that the voice of the Athlone business community had ensured that Irish Water had accelerated their Leakage Reduction Programme last year and secured the recent water savings.
John McGrath, President of Athlone Chamber of Commerce, added: “We would like to acknowledge the input of Minister Kevin Boxer Moran who met with the Chamber members with high water usage last year in order to understand the problems being faced by industry.”