Farmer left without running water for three days

A FARMER was left without running water for three days, leaving him fearful for the welfare of his livestock.

Martin McMahon, who is based in Meelick, was unable to fill the troughs of the cows he has on his small farm from early this week after water failed to issue from his taps.

He says he sought help from Uisce Eireann - but it was two days before the supply was restored to his home this Thursday.

"I have cattle, and there has been no water in the trough for three days," he said. 

READ MORE: Elderly woman has stolen purse 'dumped in bin' while doing grocery shop in Limerick

"Essentially we are having to bring water to the trough. We don't have it here. We are trying to source it from somewhere. So we are putting barrels to collect rain water. Obviously, in the house, as it's been three days, we cannot wash any dishes, we cannot have a shower or flush the toilet. It's very frustrating," he said.

Mr McMahon explained how he initially contacted Uisce Eireann (formerly Irish Water) on the issue on Tuesday, 24 hours after his supply was cut.

But, he added, staff at the utility company could not tell him exactly when it would be restored.

"I was concerned about the cattle in my field. We are not able to wash. So I rang Irish Water. The contact centre was not local.  I explained the situation to them. They acknowledged there are problems, so I asked if they could give me an estimate as to when the water will be back," he added.

When Mr McMahon says he was told by staff that his water should be back on, he challenged them, because it wasn't.

"We were getting nowhere, so I decided to escalate it," he explained.

Uisce Eireann, he added, said they would get back to him within 24 to 48 hours.

He was so concerned as to the welfare of his animals, he actually contacted Mayorstone Garda station.

"I actually called the gardai and I asked if they could let me know, as I am responsible for animals, what happens if I cannot give them water? The exact response I got was - that's a good one," Mr McMahon told Limerick Live.

"The amount of delay in repairing this is unprecedented," the farmer added.

"I've done as much as I can. I've escalated this to the gardai, I've escalated it to the local councillor, I've escalated it to my local TD and Irish Water. Unfortunately, it looks like the situation is that we will just have to sit down and wait," he said.

Mr McMahon's water supply was restored this Thursday.

A spokesperson for Uisce Eireann said the outage was due to a burst water main in Limerick City.

"Works to repair this burst are now complete, and normal water supply has been restored. Customers should note that they may experience some discolouration, anyone who experiences issues on return of supply such as discolouration, low pressure or airlocks can find further information which may help on our website," the spokesperson added.