What happened?

A major water main at Roughgrange which takes water from the River Boyne to the Staleen Water Treatment Plant in Drogheda burst on Thursday evening.

The burst is located more than four metres underground. The pipe is over 50 years old and is a high-pressurised main. The fix requires the fitting of a new pipe to a section of very old infrastructure and calls for “a complex and bespoke repair,” Irish Water said.

Crews have been on site since early Friday morning attempting to make the repair.

Who is affected?

Irish water said it is “ mainly up to 30,000 customers” that have been affected, in Drogheda and some in east Meath. Former mayor Pio Smith says the water rationing in the area affects a broader region form Clogherhead to Ashbourne which he says takes in some 70,000 people.

What is Irish Water doing?

Irish Water said it has been working since Thursday to repair the pipe but due to the age of the pipe and the complexity of the burst, “usual solutions” which involve fitting a new section of pipe have not worked so far.

A tailor made piece of pipe is now being made and will be taken on site and fitted over coming days.

Irish Water said it is prioritising critical and vulnerable customers, particularly Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and others including the dialysis unit at a local private hospital (Beacon Care).

The utility said it was mobilising all available resources from across the county, region and nationally.

“We are rationing the limited water resources across the entire water supply by implementing scheduled interruptions on a rotational basis. This is to maximise the limited water resources across all of the affected customers,” Irish Water said. Tankers and water stations have also been set up.