Connections FAQs

No, we do not charge for assessing Pre-Connection Enquiry Forms.

No, we will only issue Confirmation of Feasibility for providing a connection to the Uisce Éireann network.

No. Confirmation of Feasibility is simply a statement that at the time of issue, a connection to Uisce Éireann infrastructure is feasible. It is unconnected with your planning application, and any questions or concerns regarding your planning application should be directed to the Planning Authority.

No. Confirmation of Feasibility cannot be regarded as a commitment to provide a connection. A connection application and completion of the acceptance requirements is always required in order to guarantee a connection.

No. Any customer seeking a connection must obtain agreement from Uisce Éireann for their water and/or wastewater service connection. Planning permission does not guarantee you a connection.

There is no application fee. However, should any investigative or detailed design works be required in order to process an application for a business connection, the customer may be liable to pay associated costs through a Project Works Services Agreement (PWSA). Uisce Éireann will advise you of any such costs in advance, and fees become due when an offer is issued.

In April 2019, Uisce Éireann implemented a Connection Charging Policy which included a single set of standard connection charges and standardised the scope of work involved in each connection. To view these charges, please visit our Connections Charges page.

Uisce Éireann or agents acting on our behalf carry out works on strategic or public infrastructure. Local infrastructure in housing and mixed use developments may be constructed by either the customer, or by Uisce Éireann or our agents. The connection agreement will set out who is to construct the local infrastructure. At present Uisce Éireann is delivering a pilot project that is facilitating Self Lay of water services infrastructure in public roads by developers on behalf of Uisce Éireann. Click here for more details

Yes, Section 55 of the Water Services Act 2007 makes it a criminal offence for any person to, amongst other things, cause or permit the connection of a premises to the water supply of Uisce Éireann either directly or indirectly or otherwise take a supply of water from the Uisce Éireann network without the agreement of Uisce Éireann. It is also a criminal offence pursuant to Section 53 of the Water Services Act 2007 for a person to, amongst other things, cause or permit a connection to be made to the water supply provided by Uisce Éireann, otherwise than with the agreement of Uisce Éireann or to dishonestly use or cause to be diverted for dishonest use or to permit the dishonest use of water supplied by Uisce Éireann.

Uisce Éireann has developed a process to deal with illegal connections and are obliged to take action where such connections are made.

The guidance provided in this section is for an application for a connection. Other requirements, such as planning permissions or Trade Effluent Discharge to Sewer Licence are distinct processes which must be completed separately. For more details on the Trade Effluent Discharge to Sewer Licence, please visit our Trade Effluent section.

It is estimated that 180,000 homes in Ireland together with public buildings, schools, medical centres and other buildings over 40 years old, may have lead plumbing. Water passes through lead pipes and fittings; lead can dissolve into it. The majority of lead found in drinking water comes from the lead plumbing inside the property boundary and that's the responsibility of the owner. If your home was built before 1980, then you should check your plumbing for lead. If there is lead then you should replace the plumbing, and the Government has a grant scheme that you may qualify for.

There is a process for replacing the public side of the lead service connection following that, please follow that process using our Lead Pipe Scheme Application Form rather than apply for a connection.

View our guidance document on Design of Wastewater Connections for Schools.

Where significant impact on the public water and /or wastewater infrastructure is considered likely as a result of a particular new or modified connection, applicants may be required to enter into a Project Works Services Agreement with Uisce Éireann. A Project Works Services Agreement (PWSA) will require the applicant to pay the financial costs relating to the necessary engineering assessments prior to entering into a formal Connection Agreement.

Uisce Éireann has introduced a Connection Charging Policy that contains a national set of charges for connections to the Uisce Éireann, water and wastewater networks. The charges are calculated in a cost-reflective manner, based on connection type. Standard connection charges apply to the majority of customers and Uisce Éireann provides a full connection service to a customer's boundary.

The Connection Charges apply to applicants who wish to connection to the Uisce Éireann, water and/or wastewater network directly or indirectly. The connection charges will apply to developers of multi-unit housing (or mixed use) developments, customers developing their own homes (one off housing) and customers wishing to connect a business. Connection charges always existed and were historically applied by Uisce Éireann and previous to that by the Local Authorities. A connection charge is only applied once and is pre-paid in advance of a connection to the IW water and/or waste water network. These connection charges will not have any impact on existing connected customers.

Up to 1 April 2019, connections were charged at the rates applied by the Local Authorities as at 31 December 2013. There were c. 57 different charging regimes with different methodologies and levels of service and, as a national utility, IW recognised that this situation was inconsistent, unfair and overly complex. The CRU also recognised the inconsistency and unfairness of the current charging model and asked Uisce Éireann to submit a proposal for a new Connection Charging Policy which would be simple, fair, and transparent for customers across the country. Uisce Éireann submitted its proposals for this new policy to the CRU who approved the policy following a public consultation process.

The policy provides a single clear, transparent and fair connection charging framework. The Uisce Éireann Connection Charging Policy:

• Sets out Standard Connection Charges for the majority of customers. Up until 1 April 2019, customers in different Local Authorities paid different charges for the same type of connection. These charges were not cost reflective and did not take into account the impact on the upstream network.
• Provides a consistent, safe, and end-to-end connection service to customers nationally. In the past, different levels of connection works were performed depending on the Local Authority area, for example, in some cases the customer was required to pay the cost of a Road Opening Licence (ROL) or to procure their own contractor to complete the physical connection.
• The Connection Charging Policy was implemented on 1 April 2019, with the cost per single domestic unit for a standard connection being €2,272 for Water and €3,929 Wastewater (Connection Infrastructure up to 10 metres).

The effective date for the new Policy is 1 April 2019. From this date, Uisce Éireann will be able to issue connection offers based on the new charges. Once the connection offer is signed by the customer, Uisce Éireann can accept payments against the new charges and work can then be scheduled. Please note its currently estimated to take 12 weeks on average to complete connection works from the date the Road Opening License is received by Uisce Éireann (where a Road Opening Licence is required to facilitate a connection).

This timeline is estimated on the basis that our regional contractors complete all the works and the following criteria has been met:

• No road closures are needed for the connection
• The connection is a standard connection and does not require a mains extension.
• In relation to self-lay developments, a conformance cert will need to be obtained by the developer from Uisce Éireann in advance of Uisce Éireann providing a connection to the development.
• The developer must have undertaken a water quality test and obtained a positive result within 14 days of a connection being made, otherwise the test will have to be undertaken again. Confirmation of this needs to be in the Final Documents for the Field Engineers' assessment.

The above timeline is indicative as some connections will be straightforward and completed quicker while more complex connections may take longer.

These Standard Details have been developed to set out Uisce Éireann's requirements for developers in the provision of water supply and wastewater collection infrastructure that is to be installed in developments, particularly housing developments, and that will be connected to Uisce Éireann's networks and subsequently vested by Uisce Éireann. They complement the Uisce Éireann Codes of Practice.

The Standard Details provide the basis for developers' detailed design proposals for water and wastewater infrastructure, leading to the provision of infrastructure that is suitable for connection to Uisce Éireann's networks and for easy operation and maintenance. For infrastructure which will be vested by Uisce Éireann, deviation from the requirements of the Standard Details is not allowed without the prior written approval of Uisce Éireann. Any proposed deviation from the Standard Details must be submitted and discussed with Uisce Éireann's Connections and Developer Services and a Design Risk Assessment must accompany the proposal. Deviations can not proceed without written approval.

There are two sets of Standard Details, one set relates to water infrastructure and the second set relates to wastewater infrastructure. These are documents IW-CDS-5020-01 and IW-CDS-5030-01 respectively.

The Standard Details are available in our Technical Guidance section.

The Standard Details have been prepared taking into account certain health and safety considerations. However, as the Developers' designers will prepare the final detailed design, the responsibility for this remains with the Developer and his/her designer. The Design Risk Assessments (DRA) outline the residual health and safety responsibilities of developers and their designers/contractors in the provision of water and wastewater infrastructure.

The Design Risk Assessments (DRA) associated with Standard Details for Water Infrastructure and the Standard Details for Wastewater Infrastructure are available in our Developer Services section: document IW-CDS-5020-02 and document IW-CDS-5030-02 respectively.

Where a developer is providing water supply and wastewater collection infrastructure in new developments which will ultimately be connected to the Uisce Éireann Network(s) and vested in Uisce Éireann, the use of the Standard Details is mandatory.

The Standard Details and Codes of Practice were published in April 2016 and December 2016 respectively. On that basis, your designs, at this stage, should be in accordance with the Standard Details and Codes of Practice. The Codes of Practice complement the Standard Details and do not impose any additional technical requirements. The Standard Details and Codes of Practice are based on best practice within the water industry and adherence to them is required by Uisce Éireann. An Exemption Period was applied to the Standard Details from their mandating in June 2016 and this exemption process expired in October 2016. It is only proposed to continue with this Exemption process for the Standard Details and the Codes of Practice in exceptional and justifiable situations.

The Standard Details are based on best practice within the water industry. They take account of the experience of Local Authorities in the provision of these services to new developments. They have been successfully used by Uisce Éireann's own internal functions for a variety of projects and they are in line with water utility industry norms.

If you have a query in respect of a Standard Detail, please send your query to standarddetails@water.ie and a member of the technical team will respond to you directly. This e-mail address is also used to accept queries on the Codes of Practice.

These Codes of Practice have been developed to set out Uisce Éireann's requirements for developers in the provision of water supply and wastewater collection infrastructure that is to be installed in developments, particularly housing developments, and that will be connected to Uisce Éireann's networks and subsequently vested by Uisce Éireann. They complement the Uisce Éireann Standard Details.

The Codes of Practice provide the basis for developers' detailed design proposals for water and wastewater infrastructure, leading to the provision of infrastructure that is suitable for connection to Uisce Éireann's networks and for easy operation and maintenance. For infrastructure which will be vested by Uisce Éireann, deviation from the requirements of the Codes of Practice is not allowed without the prior written approval of Uisce Éireann. Any proposed deviation from the Codes of Practice must be submitted and discussed with Uisce Éireann's Connections and Developer Services and a Design Risk Assessment must accompany the proposal. Deviations can not proceed without written approval.

There are two Codes of Practice, one Code of Practice relates to water infrastructure and the second Code of Practice relates to wastewater infrastructure.

The Standard Details are available in our Technical Guidance section.

The Codes of Practice have been prepared taking into account certain health and safety considerations. However, as the Developers' designers will prepare the final detailed design, the responsibility for this remains with the Developer and his/her designer. The Design Risk Assessments (DRAs) outline the residual health and safety responsibilities of developers and their designers/contractors in the provision of water and wastewater infrastructure.

The Design Risk Assessments (DRA) associated with Standard Details for Water Infrastructure and the Standard Details for Wastewater Infrastructure are available in our Developer Services section: document IW-CDS-5020-02 and document IW-CDS-5030-02 respectively.

Where a developer is constructing water supply and wastewater collection infrastructure in new developments which will ultimately be connected to the Uisce Éireann Network(s) and vested in Uisce Éireann, the use of the Codes of Practice is mandatory.

The Standard Details and Codes of Practice were published in April 2016 and December 2016 respectively. On that basis, your designs, at this stage, should be in accordance with the Standard Details and Codes of Practice. The Codes of Practice complement the Standard Details and do not impose any additional technical requirements.

The Standard Details and Codes of Practice are based on best practice within the water industry and adherence to them is required by Uisce Éireann. An Exemption Period was applied to the Standard Details from their mandating in June 2016 and this exemption process expired in October 2016. It is only proposed to continue with this Exemption process in exceptional and justifiable situations for the Standard Details and the Codes of Practice.

The Codes of Practice are based on best practice within the water industry. They take account of the experience of Local Authorities and water utility companies in the provision of these services in new developments. They have been successfully used by Uisce Éireann's own internal functions for a variety of projects and they are in line with water utility industry norms.

The Code of Practice for Water Infrastructure outlines the requirement for water main material in Section 3.9 thereof. Two materials are acceptable,

• Ductile Iron (DI) pipes to IS EN 545
• Polyethylene (PE) to IS EN 12201

Note: CPE/PVC to BS PAS 27 and MoPVC to UK WIS 4-31-08 and ISO 16422 may be allowed in exceptional circumstances, subject to Uisce Éireann's written approval, for a two-year "phase-out" period from November 2017. Their use will not be allowed thereafter. These "exceptional circumstances" would include housing developments with 100 housing units or less.

The Code of Practice for Wastewater Infrastructure outlines the requirement for gravity sewer pipe material in Section 3.13 thereof. Three materials are acceptable,

• Concrete spigot and socket pipes to IS EN 1916, BS 5911 and IS 6.
• Thermoplastic Structure Wall Pipes to IS EN 13476, with SN8 stiffness class and a jetting resistance of 2,600 psi.
• Unplasticised PVC Pipes to IS EN 1401, with SN8 stiffness and a jetting resistance of 2,600 psi.

Note: Fittings of SN4 stiffness class will be acceptable to Uisce Éireann for the Thermoplastic Structure Wall Pipes and Unplasticised PVC Pipes outlined above. These fittings are to comply with IS EN 13476 and IS EN 1401.

If you have a comment or query in respect of the Codes of Practice, please send these to standarddetails@water.ie and a member of the technical team will respond to you directly. This e-mail address is used to accept queries on the Standard Details and it will now also be used to accept queries, comments, etc. on the Codes of Practice.