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SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, January 16, 2012

QUESTION NO. 18

QUESTION: Councillor G. O'Connell

To ask the Manager for an up to date progress report on the servicing of the water mains in 2011 and in particular if all the work of "re-setting stop cocks below the minimum level" has been completed and what improvements, if any, have taken place in preventing leakage from the system?

REPLY:

The Water Section carried out the following works on the water network in 2011:

Repairs to burst mains                                   114

Repairs to services                                         499

Removal of lead services                                127

Shallow services and stopcocks deepened    81

Repair or install valves                                    60

Repair or install hydrants                                37

Repair or install air valves                                 6

All of the above works contribute towards preventing leakage from the network.

During the very cold period last winter there was a significant issue with services freezing.  This typically occurs if service pipes and stopcocks are not laid deep enough.  We identified or were informed of 253 services that froze last winter and have been carrying out works to excavate and lower services on this list as resources allow and based on priority, ie the shallowest services/stopcocks and where householder have laid new deeper services out to their boundary have been done first.  During 2011 we excavated 81 stopcocks and lowered them and the associated part of the services in the public area to the specified depth of at least 450mm below ground. This work will continue in the current year.