Irish Water has apologised after a second major water pipe burst in just over a week, cutting supplies to up to 10,000 households and businesses.
The utility provider said it “apologises for the inconvenience caused by this incident and thanks customers for their patience and co-operation”.
Repairs to the pipe, which feeds water into Navan in Co Meath, were completed yesterday afternoon, but some residents have been faced with extensive water damage to their home.
Among the residents affected are an elderly couple who have been forced to move into temporary accommodation after the burst pipe flooded the home that they had lived in for 50 years for the second time in 18 months.
James Murtagh, 80, and Joan, 72, moved back into their home in Proudstown nine months ago following repairs to the property after the same pipe flooded their home days before Christmas in 2015.
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Along with their daughter and granddaughter, the couple were forced to escape from the property through a window on Monday this week after water flooded their house. “We have been advised we could be out for three to six months,” a family member said.
Full water supply to the town and surrounding areas was expected to be restored yesterday evening.
Irish Water had placed water tankers on standby to replenish Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan in case its water storage ran out. Less than two weeks ago, a burst water main left about 60,000 people across Louth and Meath without water for several days.
In July about 60,000 households and businesses in the Drogheda area were left without water for almost a week after a main burst at the Staleen Water Treatment Plant.