Related Stories

• Unlikely visitor swoops into Ballinwillin
  
  
• Cork County Council’s Walking and Cycling Strategy passed by Fermoy Town Council
  
  
• Tesco Mitchelstown Music Festival raffle raises €800 for Aware
  
  
• Announcement expected soon on new Gaelscoil site
  
  
• History of Castlelyons houses recorded in new book
  
  
• Avondhu Blackwater Partnership to run a guided tour of west Cork
  
  
• Mitchelstown groups set to meet
  
  
• Recalling Avondhu headlines from September 1992
  
  
• End of an era as La Bigoudenne exits Fermoy
  
  
• Firgrove Hotel hosts charity fundraiser
  
  
• Value of continuing education highlighted by Cork student living in Rathcormac
  
  
• Mitchelstown business fronts helping Tidy Town effort
  
  

A public meeting in Kildorrery last week about the ongoing water problems brought a number of issues to the fore. Photo: iStock

A public meeting in Kildorrery last week about the ongoing water problems brought a number of issues to the fore, as some people had only trickles of water coming through their taps, while others had the leaking reservoir causing flooding in their back garden.

The meeting was attended by local politicians and TD Tom Barry, while Minister Sean Sherlock had met the group the day before and those who attended were calling for answers and action, instead of empty promises and false timelines.

While some councillors said that an application would be submitted in a matter of weeks and work would hopefully be underway by Christmas, the members of the public felt that they were being thrown inaccurate timelines for the sake of it.

This week, Michael Savage of Cork County Council met with Noreen Dunne, Pat O'Brien, Barry Dunne, Ted Enright, Geraldine Daly and Joanne McEldowney, who make up a committee that was elected on the night to represent the community.

Cork County Council began checking all valves in the area this week, to see if they are functioning as they should and if not they will be replaced. This will be completed within a few weeks, with a view to having a full audit done within the month, providing no replacements are needed. Following this, leaks will be identified and repaired and this should lead to an increase in pressure.

While this was welcomed by the committee as progress, Mr Savage said that these works are separate from any applications or plans to replace sections of the scheme and he said that people would be notified of all planned water stoppages or repairs before hand. The committee expect to have an update on the progress in a month.

NOT A TOP PRIORITY

People in Kildorrery had been under the impression that they were a top priority to have their water fixed, but Minister Sherlock revealed that in May 2012, when the council submitted a proposal for priority works, Kildorrery was listed as number 58 out of 140 across the county.

He added that the most important thing now is to get a new application submitted once the audit has been done and a full picture of what is needed has been painted. He said that once that application has been made, he will fully engage with Minister Hogan and lobby the county manager to make sure it's prioritised.

"It is important to tell the truth and be straight with people and I would say that, until a cost is estimated for the works, it's impossible to give an accurate time frame," Minister Sherlock said.

He added that the situation also throws up questions about the water shortages in Ballyhooly.

NO SHOWERS OR PRESSURE

In a letter from the Director of Services for Water, Katherine Walshe that was circulated, it was stated that in the week before the meeting, there had been two breaks on the same day and that 'normal supply' was restored. However, residents said that the supply they had could not be described as 'normal'.

Residents took to the floor on the night of the meeting to tell councillors about bringing their children to other people's homes to have showers and not being able to use dishwashers and washing machines, while the business people, including the owner of Thatch & Thyme and the hairdressers, said that they have suffered business wise because of the breaks in the water.

One woman spoke of how there was water coming out the top and bottom of the reservoir one day, but she didn't have a drop in her taps.

Chairing the meeting, Ted Enright, vice chairman of the Kildorrery Community Development Association, said that the water problem has become a very serious one and he said that the council have probably spent more money repairing small problems, than they would have spent if they had put in new lines.

Councillors Noel McCarthy, Tom Sheahan, Frank O'Flynn and Kevin O'Keeffe all spoke to the crowd about how they are all committed to helping them through this and lobbying on their behalf to make sure that funding is made available.

Deputy Tom Barry said that the situation should never have gotten this bad and he said that if funding is approved, the work would be done on a phased basis, "so there is no quick solution for Kildorrery", he said.

He also suggested that people keep a diary of what the situation is like and these can be presented to Minister Hogan to give a full picture of how bad the problem is.

blog comments powered by Disqus