Waterpipe network in County Limerick village to be flushed out in bid to resolve smell

THE waterpipe network in a County Limerick village is to be flushed out using a new technology in a bid to resolve an ongoing problem in a housing estate in the village where the tap water smells of petrol. 

For the past 12 months, residents of O’Connor’s Park in Ardagh have been unable to drink their tap water because of  the presence of low levels of hydrocarbons in the water.

Irish Water has been working with Limerick City and County Council to try and find a solution to the problem and has now come up with a new technology which they hope will work. 

“We are now trialling a new technology, called Ice-Pigging which is used to clean water mains and remove any possible source of contamination in the pipes in O’Connor Park,” explained Ian O’Mahony of Irish Water.

“Ice-pigging involves pumping an ice solution into the pipeline under pressure to remove any built-up sediments and deposits.” The solution i

The work is due to begin this Monday and water quality will be monitored carefully at all stages of the process. 

 It will take place from the Reservoir in Ardagh, through the village  to O’Connor Park, out towards the school and down towards the old creamery on Monday. There may be additional runs from the centre of the town to the outskirts of the town on Tuesday.

This work may initially result in some discoloration of the water during the cleaning process, and it  is recommended that customers, where possible, minimise the use of mains water whilst Pigging is being undertaken outside their property.

These works are not expected to result in water outages, but some minimal disruption to supply is likely while the process is being undertaken and the Pig is passing the connection point to a customer’s property. 

Residents  will know that Ice Pigging is being undertaken in their area as the contractor will have signage at both ends of the run in which they are working. “As the process should only result in potential short term disruption, customers will not be notified individually.” Irish Water has said. 

Customers with queries or concerns should contact Irish Water at 1850 278 278. Frequently Asked Questions and Answers in relation to water quality can also be found on our website at the following link; https://www.water.ie/water-supply/water-quality/faqs/