The North East could soon be set to face further water disruption over the next 18 months as Irish Water have revealed that it will cost over €3m to replace the current water mains pipe leading to the Staleen Water treatment plant in Donore Co Meath.
The startling revelation whch will cause major disruption to over 50,000 households in the area comes after the company revealed today that the new specially made fitting to fix the leak which has affected the area over the past six days is only a temporary measure to address the current issue.
Speaking about the problem which has become more extensive after recent inspections in the area an Irish Water spokesperson has said the company must address the problem fully by replacing the mains pipe which spans over 2.2 kilometres.
The spokesman also claimed the problem which cannot be fixed by implementing half measures will cost in the region of €3m to address and take 18 months to complete.
Irish Water say the recent problem was all but inevitable given the age of the pipe in the area and that it could once again become problematic if a complete overhaul of the water supply system is not completed in the near future.
The announcement which will surely anger many local residents comes less than a day after the company confirmed that the current problem will not be fixed by the weekend at the earliest.
However residents in Drogheda and its surrounding areas today were given hope as the new fitting to repair the leak was fitted this morning with it currently undergoing testing.
Irish Water say they are hopeful the new fitting will hold as initial testing has proven to be successful so far.