ADRIGOLE residents are looking forward to having a clean, reliable water supply by the end of the summer.

After experiencing more than 30 water breaks, over the last 12 months, including no water supply for some at Christmas, residents gathered for yet another public meeting on Friday night.

But ahead of the meeting, Cllr Finbarr Harrington (Ind) said Uisce Éireann confirmed that it was not only providing a temporary solution to the problem but also committing to a complete overhaul of the network.

According to the Beara-based councillor, an estimated 70% of residents will immediately benefit from the short-term solution.

This involves Uisce Éireann attaching a water tanker to the opposite end of the water main and pumping it back through the system whenever there is a break.

He explained that a 300m to 400m stretch of pipe is responsible for most of the​ breaks, and that 30% of residents may still experience a disruption in supply.

However, the Independent councillor said a relay of water tankers will be supplied by Uisce Éireann if that is what is needed to meet supply.

‘The real good news is that Uisce Éireann has given an undertaking to replace the entire 1,600m of the antiquated AC network,’ he said.

Cllr Harrington said he had it on good authority that a contractor has already been appointed, and that the work will start within a month, and take about three months to complete.

‘The work to replace the old asbestos concrete pipes should be completed by the end of July, which would mean that not only will the residents of Adrigole have a reliable water supply, it will also be much cleaner and much healthier.

‘After 12 months of the worst kind of aggravation, the residents can look forward to a much-improved water supply, one that is no longer supplied through old asbestos concrete pipes.’

Kieran O’Shea, chairman of the Adrigole Water Action Group, said: ‘This is fantastic news. We understand that it is going to take a few months to complete, but it is great to know that the work is going to be done.’

Mr O’Shea said the short-term solution was also good news for an estimated 70% of locals.

But he has called on Uisce Éireann to come and meet the water action group to ensure that there will be minimal disruption to the remaining 30% of residents living in the worst affected area.

After a high-profile campaign, that was rarely out of the newspapers, Mr O’Shea paid tribute to all of the public representatives who took up their cause with Uisce Éireann.

Before going to press, a spokesperson for Uisce Éireann confirmed that while the permanent solution – the mains rehabilitation project is progressing, UE’s operations team is commencing preparatory works to put an interim, temporary measure in place to help reduce the duration and impact of outages during water main breaks on the watermain north of Adrigole R574.

‘This involves laying a temporary over-ground pipe which will be connected to the eastern end of the Adrigole network, and ready to connect to water tankers which will be positioned on the Quarry Road in Dromagowlane in the event of a water main break only.

The Uisce Éireann spokesperson said there will be a community information briefing before construction commences. And she said construction is expected to be completed by the end of July 2026.

In the meantime, she said: ‘We will continue to monitor the area and respond to bursts and to mobilise repair crews to minimise supply disruptions to the customers.’