Water supply in parts of Newbridge, Co Kildare 'at crisis point'

Water supply in parts of Newbridge, Co Kildare has now reached “crisis point”, according to a Social Democrats councillor for the Newbridge LEA.

According to Cllr Chris Pender, residents in the Ballymany area of Newbridge have experienced water disruption for the past six to eight weeks, with no resolution in sight.

Cllr Pender has reported that Ballymany faces disruption to the water supply after 6pm each evening, when the water pressure is so low that residents cannot shower “or even boil a kettle.”

This, he explained, is due to the nature of the water infrastructure serving this part of Newbridge, and issues with the Allen reservoir.

“It's been going on for a while. Initially we thought it might be because of a development that's up the top of Newbridge, Páirc na Manach, we thought that they may have been drawing on more water than was there”, Cllr Pender told Kildare Now.

“But due to further investigation, we've discovered that it's the piece when it comes to the Allen reservoir.

“It's obviously not the Allen reservoir's fault, it's not the fault of the individuals around there, but it is resulting in people not having water after six o'clock.

“We've got families up there (in Ballymany), we've got older people up there...I was speaking to an older gentleman the other day who, just in case he has no water pressure in the evening, he's using pots and bottles just to make tea.”

Cllr Pender said he partly attributed the disruption in water services to what he described as the over-development of Newbridge, with the problem in Ballymany becoming apparent as soon as people began to move into newer developments in the town.

He said that according to Uisce Éireann, new water piping may be required to resolve the problem, but that this would be a longer-term solution, which they are reportedly currently investigating.

“What's frustrating me the most is that there's no indication on when the problem will be fixed. It's not good enough, as far as I'm concerned, and as you can see there's any number of new developments going into Newbridge and I'm genuinely worried”, Cllr Pender said.

“I'm not saying we don't have the water to support these houses, we do, I'm concerned we don't have the infrastructure to direct the water the right way.

“And Diageo hasn't even started yet, so I can only imagine the impact that'll have on the lower end of the town.”

Cllr Pender raised a motion at a January meeting of the council, calling on a meeting with Uisce Éireann, with the council yet to receive a response.

A statement issued by Uisce Éireann read: "Uisce Éireann is aware that the Ballymany area of Newbridge, Co Kildare has been experiencing water supply disruption and low pressure in recent weeks.

"Eoghan Forristal, Water Network Operations Manager for Co Kildare, says, 'We have been carrying out investigations in respect of the pressure management of the water supply and also leak detection in that area to ensure no water is being lost.

'Uisce Éireann is prioritising a survey of the large water main that serves this area to show that it is flowing to full capacity and to identify any issues with the pressure management of the pipeline.

'We understand the frustration that low water pressure is having on households and businesses in the area and assure customers that we are prioritising this matter.'

"Eoghan is happy to meet with members of Kildare County Council to discuss the matter."

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