Residents mobilising to get answers and action from Irish Water

A GROUP of fed-up Enfield residents have come together to highlight the problem of constant water outages and to launch a campaign to tackle the problem.

Enfield for Water hopes to take a co-ordinated approach in their fight for a proper water supply for the town.

“We have only just got together, so we are in the early stages, but we are looking at our options. “We want to co-ordinate our efforts and see what can be done,” says Joe Morris.

He said they had met with Deputy Johnny Guirke and Cllr Noel French on Friday.

“We intend to take a multi-modal approach to this issue, as it appears to be a complicated situation with the current infrastructure meant for a town that was very different from what we have now.”

“We are looking to see what we can do. Residents are having a terrible time with the water off on such a regular basis.

Cllr Noel French who met with the new group on Friday said that the very minimum people who are paying property tax can expect is to get a decent water supply.

“What Enfield is getting is far from adequate and it is annoying the hell out of me.

“People are without water every second or third day.”

Deputy Johnny Guirke, who also attended the meeting, said the latest he had been told by Irish Water was that a contractor for a new reservoir was to get back to Irish Water with a price by the end of the month with a view to starting work on it shortly.

“My job will be to hold Irish Water to account and ensure they keep to that.

“It is important to hold them to the dates.

“If we have the new reservoir, even if the system trips, there will be a supply for five or six hours so that many people may not even realise there has been an outage.

“The issue of why it keeps tripping has also to be sorted. This is a huge issue,” he said.

A spokesperson for Irish Water said they were working with Meath County Council to progress with upgrades to the water treatment infrastructure in Enfield, Ballivor, and Longwood. They have completed essential disinfection upgrades to Kilmurray water treatment plant, which supplies Ballivor, and to both Enfield and Longwood water treatment plants.

Further works at Enfield water treatment plant included the installation of a new pump to reduce the risk of water supply disruptions in the area. Additional works are also in progress at each plant to improve operational performance and resilience. These works include the installation of new pumps, additional monitoring equipment and controls and new waste facilities. These upgrades are expected to be completed in early 2022.

She said they were also progressing with plans to construct treated drinking water reservoirs in Enfield, Ballivor and Longwood.

Speaking about recent supply disruptions in Enfield and Ballivor, Donal Heaney, Irish Water said, “Irish Water and Meath County Council understand the inconvenience recent supply disruptions have caused and we are continuing to work to minimise any further disruptions. We continually monitor the performance of the water network and undertake additional works as required to safeguard the local supply.”

“Customers who are experiencing issues with their water supply should report them directly to our customer contact centre so that an investigation can be carried out and normal supply can be restored. Our call centre operates 24/7 on 1800 278 278. Customers can also contact Irish Water on Twitter @IWCare. Information regarding planned and unplanned outages is also available on www.water.ie