Water boost for Stoneyford with €400,000 upgrade

Residents of the village of Stoneyford should see improved water pressure and fewer outages following the completion of a significant upgrade there.

The €400,000 project, which involved the installation of 2.5 km of new water mains in the Stoneyford area, replaced the aging water mains supplying the town. Low pressure and outages had been a problem in the past due to the age and poor condition of the mains.

Irish Water has said the new scheme has already led to savings of almost 3,000 litres of treated water per hour – more than half a million litres a week.

In addition to the reduction in leakage, Irish Water has said the work has resulted in considerable energy savings by eliminating the need to pump water to a second reservoir to compensate for water lost to leaks.

Local TD John Paul Phlean has welcomed the completion of works, saying it will make for a much more reliable water supply.

The project was carried out in partnership with Kilkenny County Council, got underway at the start of the year and was completed in recent weeks

The upgrade has also been welcomed locally by Cllr Patrick McKee.

“Water supply and water quality are of major concern to our local communities and as a local councillor who is receiving calls on a regular basis about both supply and quality I’m delighted with this announcement.

“Whilst I have serious issues with the operation of Irish Water and the cost to the taxpayer, any investment such as this must be welcomed,” he said.

“The investment will upgrade water infrastructure in the area and deliver a much more reliable water supply with better pressure and fewer outages due to burst pipes, which was a frequent problem in the past due to the age and poor condition of the water mains.”