Householders in the Bohernasup area of Ballina have been battling with regular water outages over the past year that needs to be fixed now, Fine Gael councillor John O'Hara told the March meeting of the Ballina Municipal District this week. Before the start of the district's monthly meeting, Cllr O'Hara asked for a suspension of standing orders to discuss the topic.
Cllr O'Hara said that the residents of Bohernasup in Ballina have had up to 20 water outages over the past year that can last for anything between six and 24 hours at time. He added that there are a lot of young families and elderly residents who are suffering because of the regular outages in the area. He got support from all the other members of the district that something needed to be done to sort it out quickly. Fianna Fáil councillor Annie May Reape pointed out that the problem extended into areas like Kilmore Moy and Woodlawns estate nearby.
Mayo County Council engineer, Eddie Munnelly, told the meeting that the issue was one that is across a large area of Ballina and was due to the water main pipes that were laid in the 1970s, deteriorating as they reach the end of their lifespan and once they start breaking down they continue to deteriorate. He outlined that a similar problem on the Foxford Road side of the town was dealt with by Irish Water under a emergency replacement scheme, and he urged the councillors to all contact Irish Water about the problem to try to get it to bring about a solution.
