-
-
Author: Stephen Corrigan
~ 4 minutes read
Dozens of homes and farmers outside between Athenry and Turloughmore were left without running water in the searing heat this week as Irish Water was accused of “ignoring the problem” for the past six months.
And with temperatures in the mid-twenties for the past week, farmers were struggling to feed livestock while families were scrambling to deal with the taps running dry.
Local councillor, David Collins, said this was an “emergency situation” and he had been repeatedly raising issues about water supply in the Carnaun area since last November, to no avail.
He had been bringing water pressure issues on the public water supply to Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water) and had been given several different reasons for the problem, but no solution.
“It’s about 20 houses and a number of farms. I started contacting Irish Water about this in November, informing them the water supply was very low. Initially they said it was because of problems with the Carnmore Reservoir but every couple of weeks, I’ve been contacting them and they have been giving different reasons why the pressure is low,” said Cllr Collins.
“It’s a rural area with a lot of farms. I spoke to one farmer this week who said even before the water cut, it was taking him up to three minutes to fill a bucket of water.”
Householders in the area have been left unable to take a shower, wash clothes or turn on dishwashers, he said, and some had even had their appliances destroyed because the water cut while they were on.
“I’ve never got any response from them. The Director of Services [for Infrastructure and Operations] in the Council, Derek Pender, set up a meeting two weeks ago with Irish Water and I joined to raise it. They said they’d go away and come back to me and I haven’t heard anything.
“I got a call from the people living up there last Thursday to say the water was down to a trickle and on Tuesday, it was gone,” said Cllr Collins.
The Fine Gael councillor said it was hugely frustrating as a local representative to be unable to get a straight answer from Uisce Éireann, or any indication of what they planned to do to address the problem.
“It’s frustrating for us, but not half as frustrating for the people out there who have no water. Nobody is taking responsibility,” he said.
Cllr Collins raised the matter at a meeting of the Athenry Oranmore Municipal District on Tuesday where he called on the County Council to apply pressure on Uisce Éireann.
“It’s like being on a merry-go-round,” he said, adding that efforts to get a reply from Uisce Éireann were eliciting the same “generic responses”.
“Everything seems to be going into the abyss. This is a First-World country and we have people with no water,” he said.
Director of Services Alan Farrell said he would raise the matter with the relevant department in County Hall.
In response to a query from the Connacht Tribune, Uisce Éireann put the issues down to the recent warm weather and said they had deployed a crew to the Carnaun area.
“Uisce Éireann understands the inconvenience such outages can cause and apologise for any inconvenience caused,” said a spokesperson, adding that it could take hours for supply to return to “customers on higher ground or at the end of the network”.
A review of service interruptions in the Carnaun area was being undertook, they said, and Uisce Éireann would continue to work with Galway County Council to ensure supply.
“Once this review is complete, an assessment will be completed to determine next steps.”
Ironically this comes as Uisce Éireann and Galway County Council announced what they called ‘essential overnight water restrictions’ across a large swathe of the county from last night to help manage supply.
The restrictions from 11pm to 7am will affect Tully, Letterfrack, Carna Cill Chiaráin, Carraroe, Inis Oirr and Ros Muc in Connamara, as well as Ballinasloe and parts of what it defined as Mid-Galway.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune:
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
More like this:
Councillor gunning to have “monstrosity” mast in Kilrickle moved elsewhere
A county councillor is taking steps to try and have what he calls a “monstrosity” of ...
Galway builders unite to voice frustration over planning process and lack of infrastructure
Home builders across Galway are voicing their frustration over what they consider are key restrai...
Cancer Care West wins Community Impact award
Cancer Care West has won the Community Impact category in this year’s Friendly Business Awa...
Tuam Herald appoints first female editor
The Tuam Herald, has appointed its first female Editor. Siobhán Holliman is an experienced award-...
New Stroke Hub at Croí Centre in Newcastle to be opened early 2025
A new Storke Hub at the Croí Centre in Newcastle is expected to be opened in early 2025. Construc...
Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to visit Galway as part of elections campaign trail
Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is to visit Galway tomorrow as part of the elections campaign trail...
Well known electrical shop in city set to be transformed into home
A well known electrical shop in the city could be set to be transformed into a home. Desmond and ...
Clifden and Galway City among longest waiting times for driving tests
Clifden is one of the areas in the country with the longest wait times for driving tests. While G...
Safe Summmer Boating for the Corrib event to take place in Cong
A Safe Summmer Boating for the Corrib event will take place in Cong this evening. At the event in...