IRISH Water is forking out thousands of euros to repair leaks on a pipeline it says it cannot afford to replace.
Residents in Ballindrait have endured years of misery due to repeated ruptures to their water supply. At least one family with young children has resorted to collecting rain water in a barrel due to the uncertainty of their supply while businesses in the area say the problems are putting their futures at risk.
Irish Water has repeatedly said it does not have the cash within its budget to replace the ageing mains. But the Donegal News has learnt that in the past two years alone it has had to dig up the roads 35 times to reach leaking pipes.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, Irish Water was asked for a list of bursts that have occurred in the Ballindrait area since 2017.
Between June 2017 and December 2018 leaks had to be patched up on 12 occasions. From January this year until the end of May problems had to be dealt with on 12 occasions while from July to September there were 11 further bursts – four of them in a single day.
The body said it could not disclose how much it has cost to repair the bursts because as a national water utility, it does not hold records on a county-by-county basis.
But the expense of digging up roads, paying workers, supplying materials and relaying tarmac is likely to have run to tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of euros.
In a statement issued to the Donegal News in September the water agency said it acknowledged the “significant and ongoing level of disruption” caused to residents. But it also said it regretted the Toberoneil water main “could not be completed within the remaining budgets of 2019”.
Gerry Crawford is Fianna Fáil Councillor for the area and has made numerous representations on behalf of frustrated residents. He said the figures were proof that people in the wider Ballindrait have been left behind in terms of water infrastructure.
Councillor Crawford said, “These figures are proof positive that the people of Tober and Ballindrait have been neglected in regard to their water supply.
Tober resident Frances Devenney who has been plagued with disruptions to her water supply.
“The figures are also proof of the need for a programme of replacement for this area because for far too long people have been living under circumstances where they either have no water or there is a threat of no water.”
Ballindrait supply plans for 2020
Irish Water has now confirmed that as part of its investment programme for 2020, replacement works for Ballindrait will be carried out.
A spokesperson said: “As part of Irish Water’s investment programme for 2020 this section of main in Ballindrait is planned for replacement under the water mains rehabilitation programme for Donegal.
“Irish Water is currently reviewing its detailed programme of works for the National Leakage Reduction Programme and once this process is complete the utility will update the local area in relation to the exact timing of these rehabilitation works.”
Councillor Gerry Crawford welcomed the news and said the hard work of the staff who have been tending to the bursts in Ballindrait needed to be acknowledged. But he also said there was no getting away from the fact that Irish Water has been slow” to address the problems impacting the east Donegal community.
“They were slow to deal with something that should have been addressed a long time ago. This is something they have been very familiar with for a long time. But I do take heart from the fact that the area has been included in Irish Water’s investment programme for next year.”
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