Water Services

• Water Services Events and Announcements
• Water Conservation
• Limerick Main Drainage
• Clareville Water Treatment Plant
• Water Pollution Laboratory
• Water Services Forms

Introduction

As with any major town or city throughout the developed world the Water Services Department of Limerick City Council is committed to improving the quality of life for the community we serve. This includes providing a reliable and sustainable supply of high quality drinking water to the people of Limerick City and its Environs. History has shown that a supply of high quality drinking water is essential to public health and the City Council is committed to an ongoing substantial capital investment programme, so that it will continue to deliver water that passes the strictest European regulations.

Over four billion gallons (18,980,000m3) of drinking water are produced annually by Limerick City Council at the treatment plant in Castleconnell. Of this about 60% is delivered daily to the city. The remainder of the water is exported to consumers in County Limerick and County Clare. The source for the raw water is the River Shannon, the largest river in Ireland.

The water undergoes a treatment and testing process before being pumped to the new storage reservoirs at Newcastle, from where it gravitates through a series of strategic trunk mains to Limerick City and into the distribution pipework and onto the consumer tap.

Drinking bottled water has become very popular but the water from the tap has to undergo far more stringent tests than bottled water. Tap water supplied by Limerick City Council consistently passes the water standards set by the European Drinking Water Directive of 1998. Limerick City Council Laboratory staff carry out over 25,000 tests per year to look for over fifty different substances. Independent checking of drinking water quality is carried out by the Mid Western Health Board. 

Investment

Over the life of the National Development Plan 2001-2006 up to 50 million Euro was spent on new and improved water production and distribution infrastructure. A new reservoir and watertower has recently been completed and an old reservoir refurbished giving total storage capacity of 18 million gallons (75,000m3) of water. A major extension to the water treatment plant has started which will double output to nearly 8 billion gallons per annum. This project will cost about 26 million Euro and will be one of the first design build and operate contracts to be awarded in Ireland. A further 20 million Euro will be spent over the next five years laying new watermains in the city and replacing old cast iron mains that are now undersize to meet consumption needs of the 21st century.  The City Council will continue with its programme of leakage detection and repair and is constantly investigating ways to reduce leakage and to promote water conservation.

  Specification for the Laying of Distribution Watermains (PDF - 56 Kb)
   

  2006, August - Draft Water Asessment of needs (PDF - 81 Kb)
   

  2006, August - Water Service Programme/ Asessment of needs (PDF - 11,922 Kb)
   

Contact

As business hours are 9a.m. - 5p.m. we operate an out of hours emergency number for problems with your water supply and we can be contacted on this number for all problems occurring between 5p.m. - 9a.m. Monday - Friday and at weekends. This number is 061-417833.

Water Services Department (Water Supply, Sewerage)

Phone: (061) 407229
Fax: (061) 418345
email: engineer@limerickcity.ie

Opening hours:
Monday to Friday 9.00am - 5.00pm

Address:
Water Services Department (Water Supply, Sewerage)
2nd Floor,
City Hall,
Merchants Quay,
Limerick,
IRELAND