Fine Gael TD Michelle Mulherin has received confirmation from Irish Water this week that it has approved the replacement of the problematic water mains in the town centre of Ballina, which is an estimated €700,000 investment.
Deputy Mulherin said: "I welcome very much this news from Irish Water. In recent times the public water mains on Bridge Street and in Ardnaree has been bursting on a regular basis. This has left large regions of the town on the east of the River Moy in Ardnaree, Bunree and on the Sligo Road without water at times, including some businesses in the centre of town. This has been particularly difficult for households with young children or with elderly residents and those who are sick and for certain businesses like restaurants. But it has been most challenging for some shop premises on Bridge St which experienced flooding and water damage last Thursday and unfortunately again on Monday night owing to the burst mains."
However her fellow Ballina based TD, Fianna Fail's Deputy Dara Calleary said this week that Irish Water needs to undertake a complete assessment of the condition of the pipe network in Ballina and commit whatever investment is needed to bring the water network up to standard. While he welcomed the investment of €700,000 he called for a full assessment of the towns public water supply.
Outlining the work she had put into sorting the issue, Dep Mulherin said: "I contacted Jerry Grant, head of asset management in Irish Water, back in July in relation to the urgency of this problem and the need for a permanent solution rather than having council workers out on a regular basis digging up the town centre trying to find and fix the burst mains. I have continued to press the case with him and the Mayo County Council and I am delighted that not only has he responded favourably but has agreed that the project is to be fast tracked. I also want to compliment Mayo County Council engineer Eddie Munnelly and his team for their work on the ground for Irish Water in preparing the case in an Asset Needs Brief. It is hoped that work can commence mid to late October all going to plan and will take four weeks to complete. The issue of the sanction of funding is now with the Energy Regulator and this is also being expedited.
"In addition I have asked that a protocol be developed between the council and businesses that might be prone to flooding from the burst mains so that if the problem occurs during the day that someone on behalf of the council can be on hand to switch of the water as soon as the council is notified and, if at night, that shopkeepers whose premises are at risk of flooding can be notified by council in order to take whatever steps they can to protect their property from damage," she added. "Hopefully this will just be required for the short term as we look forward to the works being completed as soon as possible. Also as these major works will have a serious impact on the town centre while they are underway and could coincide with Halloween and the run up to Christmas, Irish Water is consulting with the Chamber to ascertain the final timing of the works so as to discommode businesses in the town centre at the time that suits them best."
The first term Dáil deputy concluded: "On account of their age and condition, the water pipes ideally should have been replaced a number of years ago. However we know now that the issue of water leakages is a problem throughout the country for years and the plan is to address the problem through Irish Water."
