Mervue based councillors will meet City Hall officials tomorrow to “iron out the details” of a new grant scheme to allow homes to be connected to modern water systems, so that as many people as possible can benefit.
At Monday’s city council meeting, a motion seeking to provide a lasting solution to the Old Mervue water crisis was proposed by councillors Brian Walsh, Terry O’Flaherty, and Declan McDonnell.
The councillors called on City Hall to “ring fence” a portion of funds being made available to the local authority under the second home levy. This is in order to finance a grant scheme for homeowners affected by water contamination so they can replace the lead piping between their homes and the city’s water distribution network.
Shearidge Ltd is currently installing a new cast iron piping system to replace the old lead piping which has caused the water in Old Mervue to be contaminated. The company has offered to do ‘directional digs’ for €500 each to ensure people can then connect up to the new system.
A ‘directional dig’ provides a pipe from the main system into the grounds of a house. A plumber is then needed to connect that new pipe to the house.
After many calls by councillors Walsh, O’Flaherty, and McDonnell, the council has agreed to establish a grant scheme that will provide for part of the cost towards the directional dig needed for each house. The motion was passed unanimously at Monday’s meeting.
Councillors Walsh, Terry O’Flaherty, and Declan McDonnell will meet the city manager Joe MacGrath tomorrow to finalise the details of the scheme.
According to Cllr Walsh the scheme is open to anyone in the city who is affected by contaminated water, not just to those living in Old Mervue. He also said the scheme will be means tested and that landlords will not qualify as it is aimed at benefiting “the elderly and the unemployed”.
“We have to set parameters so that it will accommodate as many houses as possible,” Cllr Walsh told the Galway Advertiser. “The city council have rejected it before but at last they have accepted our idea.”
