Burst main causes major water outage in Athlone

A burst watermain in Garrycastle is causing supply disruptions affecting thousands of people in Athlone today (Friday).

Water in some areas on the east side of Athlone went out last night, with the effects being felt in Garrycastle, Dublin Road, Ardnaglug, Fardrum, Blyry, Killyon Hill, Bonavalley, the Ballymahon Road, and surrounding areas of the town.

In a statement issued at noon today, Irish Water said the outage was caused by a burst main which had led to "localised flooding" near the site of the burst in Garrycastle.

It said crews were working to fix the problem, but it could be late this afternoon before the water supply returns.

"Irish Water is currently on site working with the impacted business to provide support," said the statement.

"Crews are working to repair the burst as quickly and as safely as possible to safeguard the water supply for homes and businesses in Athlone and surrounding areas.

"Irish Water estimates that the repair will be completed by early afternoon, however it may take a couple of hours for normal water supply to return to all customers."

The statement said Irish Water and Westmeath County Council regretted the inconvenience to the affected homes and businesses.

"Irish Water understands the inconvenience when a burst occurs and thanks customers for their patience while we work to repair the burst and restore normal supply to impacted customers," it said.