Uisce Éireann asked to explain why one part of Wexford town has experienced 14 outages so far this year
Wexford PeopleUisce Éireann has been asked to attend a forthcoming meeting at County Hall to explain why one part of Wexford town continues to experience water outages with little to no warning.
Speaking at the October meeting of the Wexford Borough District, Councillor Tom Forde said it was high time the utility company answered some of the questions being asked by residents of Whiterock Hill.
“Could we invite a representative from Uisce Éireann (UE) to speak about the Whiterock Hill area?” he asked. “I’ve lost count of the number of outages they’ve experienced.”
Having been promptly informed that the current number stood at 14, Cllr Forde continued.
“I thought it would be higher, they’ve had loads of supply interruptions, some of the works were planned and residents weren’t given any notice,” he said. “It’s rolling from one interruption to the next, an outage that’s supposed to last a day can go on for two or three days. The residents are getting really fed up of it, there’s creches there which have to close at short notice, schools and businesses are being impacted as well, it’s not good enough and we need to be able to discuss it with Uisce Éireann.”
In September, hundreds of residents were unable to shower, run washing machines or even flush the toilet as they found that the taps were dry three times in the space of a week. The ongoing issues led to huge anger in the area.
"This is getting ridiculous,” one resident said. “We have kids that need to be got ready for school etc. There’s not even a dribble in the taps.
"Residents of Whiterock need to come together and do something now. Enough is enough.”
"It’s like living in a third world country,” another angry resident said. “We can’t even flush the toilet.”
Bumble Bee’s creche in Whitebrook was forced to close its doors as a result of the water outage, leaving over 40 families scrambling for alternative childcare.
"Our service has been forced to close for the second time this year, due to no water supply leaving families and staff in an impossible position,” owner Helen Scallan said.
"Despite repeated contact, we have not received a clear explanation from Irish Water as to why these outages are happening and how they are being resolved.
"As an early years and school-aged service, access to water is not optional, it is a basic requirement for the health, safety and care of the children. We urgently need answers and a reliable supply to prevent further disruption to families in our community.”