IRISH Water, in partnership with Cork County Council, is replacing 3.2km of problematic watermains in Darrara, Clonakilty to improve water quality and provide a more reliable water supply to the local community.
The work will mean one road in Timoleague will be closed for over two months.
The upgrade involves the replacement of problematic watermains with new modern pipes. The programme to replace the watermains will commence in mid-January and is being carried out as part of Irish Water’s national leakage reduction programme.
Steven Blennerhassett of Irish Water said the work will mean some traffic restrictions will be in place, but local and emergency access will be maintained. The works may also involve some short-term water outages, but customers will get a minimum of 48 hours’ notice before any planned water outages, he said.
‘We understand that this type of work can be inconvenient and works crews will make every effort to minimise any disruption,’ he added.
Cllr Paul Hayes said the work was long overdue, especially in the Darrara area. ‘This problematic stretch of mains water pipe has had over 50 breaks over the last 12 years, with most of those breaks occurring in recent years,’ he said. ‘It was hugely frustrating for residents left without water.’
He said many people have had domestic appliances damaged by frequent outages and it would be a huge relief to them and also to a number of businesses and the local farming community.
‘It’s also of huge relief to Council staff who have had to respond so frequently to these water breaks and for the roads department who have to try to patch up the local roads in Darrara and Ring which were damaged due to torrents of water from breaks,’ he added.
‘I’m glad that after years of lobbying, the pressure has paid off and a plan to replace this flawed pipe network is now progressing, but it should never have taken this long,’ he said.
The section of works will take place along L4016 from the junction with the Timoleague Road, through Darrara Church Crossroads to the Pound. The works will be delivered in two phases, from the Timoleague Road to Darrara Church Crossroads and from Darrara Church Crossroads to the pound.
In order to complete the works in an efficient and safe manner, a road closure is required on the L4016 (Timoleague road to The Pound) from January 17th to March 25th.
As the works are to be delivered in two phases, either may be implemented within the closure timeframe. Local access will be maintained.
The suggested diversion for southbound traffic is to travel east along R600-505, at Clashflugh Crossroads divert right onto L-4015-40, follow the road to approach road closure from the opposite side.
Traffic intending to travel south on the L-4016-0 at Darrara Church Crossroads, should divert west onto L-4015-27, then turn left onto L-4018 at Arundelmills Crossroads, follow the road to approach road closure from the opposite side.
The works will be carried out on behalf of Irish Water by Ward & Burke and are expected to be completed by late May.
Residents and businesses in the areas to benefit from the planned improvements will be notified directly, and customers can phone Irish Water on 1800 278 278 if they have any questions about the project.
