Residents in Limerick town feel the pressure over their low water supply

FRUSTRATION is mounting for residents in a West Limerick community over the deficient water supply to their homes.

One resident in Old Mill, Newcastle West  told the Leader how it is now taking several hours for her to complete one wash in her washing machine “because the water pressure is so low it’s stopping and I have to restart it”.

“This problem has been ongoing for years but has been exceptionally bad since January 1,” she told the Leader.

“The water started to go on New Year’s Eve and then on New Year’s Day we had no water but there was frost for a few days as well at the start of the new year. Apparently there was a burst pipe somewhere and it seems to be that no matter where  there is a burst pipe - whether it’s Strand or it’s town or wherever it is, we’re affected so we didn’t have any water then for a couple of days,” she continued.

New Year’s Day fell on a Friday and for that Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the woman said “there was nothing”. Then it came back “a little bit”. 

“My husband is constantly ringing Irish Water and ringing someone from the council here in town. He was told that because there was frosty weather people were leaving their taps on at night because they didn’t want their pipes freezing and then the pressure was down because of that. The reservoir wasn’t filling. That kind of made sense but then the frosty weather was over and basically we still don’t have a great water supply.”

Trying to get laundry done, the resident said, is very frustrating.

“Like I put on a wash this morning. The button will flash red because of the water pressure. It’s very annoying. It could take a  good few hours to finish the wash because the water pressure is like that.”

The family hasn't had full strength water throughout the month of January. And it’s not just frosty weather that affects them - drought also takes its toll on the water supply. 

“My husband”, she said, “was told over a fortnight ago that the problem is with the pump which is down the road.”

When contacted this week a spokesperson for Irish Water said; “Irish Water and Limerick City and County Council are aware of ongoing issues with water supply in this area and we are actively looking at ways to address this.

“Due to the extent and layout of the water network in the area some properties on higher ground, including the Old Mill area, can experience disruption to their supply when there are issues in the wider network, such as burst pipes or leaks, which cause water levels in local reservoirs to drop. The solution is to keep reservoirs as full as possible to ensure all customers have adequate supply. When bursts occur elsewhere in the network, our crews respond as quickly as possible and prioritise the completion of repairs in order to restore reservoir levels.

“We regret any inconvenience. We are working with our partners in Limerick City and County Council to identify longer term solutions”.