Clock is ticking on huge water bills for families, say experts
‘You never know when you go to bed at night if you’ll have water in the morning’
A 300-metre section on a pipe on the water mains servicing thousands of houses in Drogheda has burst an incredible nine times in the last 12 months. Despite funding for repairs being put in place last July, Irish Water has still not started work on it.
The latest leak sprung up last Thursday morning. One family, Colin and Serena Marley, who live in the Aston Village estate with their children, Kyle (3) and baby Zoe, just twelve months old, have been among the worst affected.
Due to the ongoing problems with the water supply the Marleys have gone through three washing machines in just eight years.
Colin said: ‘When the water is off, we have to drive three miles to my mother’s house in another part of town to get water for Zoe’s bottle.
‘And even that wasn’t possible last year because one leak cut off the supply to the whole of Drogheda, we had to go further afield to get some clean water.
‘Trying to bath the kids can be a nightmare, as you never know when you go to bed at night whether you will have water when you wake up.’
Complaints to Irish Water just meet with diversionary tactics, according to Colin, who said: ‘If you get up in the morning and the water is off, then the first thing you do is ring Irish Water.
‘I know their number off by heart now, but when you call them they tell you it is a Louth County Council issue and that unless the council contacts them to tell them there is a leak they cannot act.
‘Ring the council and they insist it is Irish Water’s problem, so you end up getting absolutely nowhere.’
Sinn Féin councillor Kenneth Flood also lives in Aston Village. He said: ‘Since last July the money has been there to repair or replace this pipe, yet Irish Water is just dragging its feet.
‘We were told work would be done in October 2014. It was postponed until February and businesses and residents were subjected to disruption and mayhem thanks to the water main bursting nine times in the last year.
‘Now, Irish Water has told us that work has again been postponed until at least June. How many times is the water main going to burst between now and then?
‘Bills will start arriving around about now and they are asking people to pay for a service that is irregular at best.’
When asked about the faults this week, an Irish Water spokesman said: ‘The person who is responsible for that is on annual leave and will be back next week.’