By Sean Moriarty

The problematic water main in Farranfore village is set to be replaced with works beginning later this month.

There has been regular water bursts in the area over the last few years, the most-recent rupture in July caused widespread traffic disruption and left homes and businesses without water on one of the warmest days of the year and at time when there were thousands of tourists passing though the village.

Previous bursts forced the closures of schools and creches in the village.

All this could be a thing of the past very soon.

Beginning on Monday, August 30, Irish Water sub-contractors will start a systematic replacement of water pipes in the area.
The works will be carried out during evening and night-time hours – from 7pm to 7am Monday evening to Friday morning and will continuing until the end of October.

One lane will be closed during these night-time working hours with a stop-go system in place.

Works will commence on the south side of the level crossing at Farranfore railway station and proceed towards Killarney for approximately 1km.

The works do not cross the railway tracks. The N22 Killarney to Tralee Road will remain fully open during the day, from 7 am to 7 pm, throughout the works.

“It will come as no surprise to residents and businesses of the area that there have been regular bouts of unplanned outages in the recent past due to the ageing network. The size and scale of this challenge, not only in Kerry but nationally is well documented and reacting to this, Irish Water is implementing their strategic plan to ensure security of supply, the reduction of high levels of leakage and the improvement of water quality in the county,” said Steven Blennerhassett, the Regional Delivery Lead with Irish Water.

“We are very much aware of the issues with the water supply here in Kerry and are being very proactive in trying to resolve the problem with our colleagues in Kerry County Council as efficiently as possible. We recently again, engaged with the elected representatives and as always, we value the engagement with them.

“Irish Water understands these types of works can be inconvenient and we are working with Kerry County Council, our contractor Ward and Burke and all stakeholders to make every effort to minimise any disruption the works may cause

Residents and businesses in the areas of the works will be notified, and customers can call the Irish Water customer helpline on 1850 278 278 for any questions in relation to the works.