'The water isn’t suitable for a heating system, never mind for human consumption'
The Cullionboy Reservoir, Cllr Jimmy Brogan says, is now expected to supply more than 700 households and is “no longer fit for purpose”
A local councillor has said the ongoing lack of funding to alleviate age-old difficulties of water supply is “a slap in the face.”
Cllr Jimmy Brogan, independent, was at a public meeting that was held in Leghowney Hall to discuss the ongoing problems with the Barnesmore Water Supply and the Cullionboy Reservoir.
“This is an issue which I have been in contact with Irish Water/Uisce Éireann many times and will continue to work with the community to get the upgrade on Uisce Éireann’s list of capital projects,” he said.
“For decades, the people of Leghowney, Copany and the wider area south of Barnesmore Gap have suffered from chronic underinvestment in public water infrastructure.”
The reservoir and pump-house was originally constructed in the early 1970's to serve roughly 80 houses. The same system is now providing water to over 700 homes in the area. At the time of its building, it is believed that the facility had provisions to expand for further capacity, however this was never carried out.
Uisce Eireann had discussed the possibility of installing new pumps at the reservoir but the residents who are supplied by the dilapidated and antiquated infrastructure insist that it is a new, larger reservoir that is actually required.
Locals in the building industry who know the condition of the water supply agree that a new, larger and higher-situated reservoir is the only solution to the poor water capacity and low water pressure that is a year-round occurrence in the area.
Many residents at the meeting complained that they had received planning permissions to build a new house in the area, but they have no access to water for their new family home. Also, many people spent a lot of money drilling wells for their new home only to later discover that iron ore had seeped into the wells and entered their home water supply, thus destroying water pipes, tanks and radiators.
“The result is a system no longer fit for purpose, with regular outages, low pressure and burst pipes affecting families across the area,” Cllr Brogan added.
“Many residents are forced to rely on storage tanks, wells, streams and rainwater collection to meet basic daily needs, while households have spent thousands trying to secure a dependable water supply.
“Heating systems and appliances have also been damaged. This water isn’t suitable for running a heating system, never mind for human consumption, but people have had no other option because investment in infrastructure has been neglected for too long.
“There is growing concern that any further move towards the privatisation of Uisce Éireann would only deepen these failures. Rural communities are being asked to tolerate shortages while resources and water capacity continue to be made available for data centres and vast amounts of money are available for projects like the River Shannon to Dublin pipeline.
“This is a slap in the face for communities in Barnesmore who are waiting for years for infrastructure upgrades.
One of the main takeaways from the meeting was how difficult it is to get in contact with a real person in Uisce Eireann to discuss water supply problems.
“The community is demanding immediate action from Uisce Eireann to upgrade the Cullionboy Reservoir and wider water mains network,” Cllr Brogan added. “I suggest that every single person in every house with a reduced water supply or any other issue contact UE on 1800278278 and report it every time there’s a problem.”