‘Weeks’ to f ix supply of water
Irish Water boss admits major faults with supply
WATER restrictions in the aftermath of Storm Emma could be in place for weeks, the boss of Irish Water has admitted.
Jerry Grant also apologised for information on restrictions not always being accurate.
Tens of thousands of customers have been going without water while others have had limited supply – but Mr Grant said of fixing the system: ‘This is not a programme that will end today or this week.’
THE boss of Irish Water has admitted that the impact of water restrictions earlier this week was ‘not predicted’ – and he suggested limits to supply may continue for weeks.
On Monday night, homes and businesses in Dublin were faced with a water restriction from 7pm to 7am in an attempt to recover supplies in the aftermath of Storm Emma.
However, some homeowners claim their water didn’t return until later in the day yesterday.
And tens of thousands of people outside the capital remained without water last night.
Speaking at the meeting of the National Emergency Coordination
LIDL has put plans to rebuild its store which was wrecked and looted during last week’s snow storm on hold until engineers finish inspecting the site.
The store in Tallaght, west Dublin, faces total demolition as the building is unsafe.
A spokesman said yesterday: ‘We can confirm that it had been our intention to build a new larger store on Fortunestown Lane. Given the events of Friday last, that decision is now under review.’
Nine men appeared in court on Saturday following the Lidl attack, and the breaking into a nearby Centra shop.
Group yesterday, Irish Water chief Jerry Grant accepted that information given to customers was not very accurate, and apologised to those who experienced longer restrictions.
‘I want to acknowledge that the restrictions last night hit people hard, some of the impacts were not predicted,’ Mr Grant said.
‘I can only apologise to people who didn’t have supplies this morning, because clearly when you do this kind of exercise, properties in particular areas do not get supplies back instantly, and it can take some time for it to recover.’
Irish Water announced yesterday that it planned to keep restrictions to a ‘slightly shorter timeframe’, from 8pm last night to 6am this morning.
The change was made in order to give people more time in the evening and to allow supplies to recover in the morning to ensure that water is restored before breakfast time.
Mr Grant warned that the timeframe involved in identifying and repairing leaks is ‘not rapid’.
‘This is not a programme that will end today or this week, and at this stage it’s very difficult for me to give a timeframe during which these restrictions will continue to apply,’ the utility boss said.
He also acknowledged that communities which remain without water have ‘suffered enormous social impact’, as more than 23,000 people still have no supply in Galway, Leitrim, Tipperary and Wexford.
A further 39,000 have restricted supply, with 14,000 of these in Leitrim and 12,500 in Meath. Other affected areas include Cork, Kerry, Galway, Mayo and Leixlip in Co. Kildare. Just over 14,000 people are on boil water notices, with more than 11,000 of these in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford.
Mr Grant said that locating leaks is a specialist task which is proving to be a major constraint.
‘Obviously where leaks are reported above ground and are visible, they can be addressed very quickly,’ he said. ‘But the task of finding leaks below ground on the network is challenging. It involves specialist equipment and people who are trained in that role.’
People are being asked to report any leaks or water issues to Irish Water. As the weather continues to improve with conditions to become more ‘spring-like’, local authorities are now faced with assessing the damage and financial implications from Storm Emma.
Seán Hogan, chair of the National Emergency Coordination Group, yesterday said he was ‘happy to report that situations across the country continue to improve and it is certainly more spring-like in many areas’.
‘Nonetheless, there are still some areas where the impact of the snow goes on affecting communities,’ he added. ‘And not just in Wexford, west Wicklow and north Kildare as we highlighted. Upland areas in south Dublin, Waterford and across the country through Tipperary into south and east Galway are also impacted.’
Mr Hogan said that work by contractors and local authorities clearing roads is ongoing, but that the ‘impact on water supply remains one of the big issues to be managed in the days and weeks ahead’.
A spokesman for the HSE said there had been a number of delayed patient discharges and that it is ‘asking people to consider if they need emergency treatment or if an alternative service can be availed of, for example minor injuries’. The spokesman said he is ‘conscious’ of the efforts made by staff to ensure hospitals and units had adequate staffing levels in recent days but that some of these will ‘now need periods of rest’.
‘And this will impact on rosters and service deliveries over the coming weeks,’ he warned. ‘This may also impact on service provision at hospitals and community healthcare organisation level.’
Non-urgent surgeries for yesterday were cancelled and ‘nonurgent surgeries for the remainder of the week will be reviewed’, the HSE said. ‘We envisage that full recovery will extend beyond next week and that all services will be back to normal operations,’ the spokesman added.
‘Finding leaks is challenging’