Uisce Éireann slammed for 'shifting deadlines' given to householders left without supply
HUNDREDS OF HOUSEHOLDS at a housing estate in Dublin were left without water over Easter after experiencing what one resident said was their seventh outage this year.
Homeowners at Dargle Wood in the Dublin suburb of Knocklyon have experienced dozens of outages since May 2022, according to the resident, as locals believe a new apartment development has put a strain on supply.
A water mains fault happened once again on the morning of Easter Sunday, and homes were left without any water until Tuesday evening despite initial alerts telling households that the outage would last no more than a few hours.
The resident who spoke to
The Journal
said that she was repeatedly assured by Uisce Éireann, the state's water provider, that crews were working to address the issue despite her claims that no one arrived to site until Tuesday.
A spokesperson for Uisce Éireann said that the estate in Knocklyon was impacted a a after a water mains pipe burst on Sunday morning and confirmed that a leak detection crew and repair team was not sent to the location until Tuesday.
The estimated restoration time continued to be updated to a later and later date during the outage.
Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart labelled the 'shifting deadlines' from the service as 'appalling'.
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'In both service delivery and public communication, Uisce Éireann has fallen far short,' Lahart said.
'The lack of transparency and responsiveness shown to affected residents and their representatives is deeply troubling.'
'I want accountability'
Most residents had their water restored on Tuesday night but the homeowner we spoke to said because Uisce Éireann informed those at the estate that the outages would only last for a few hours, most households did not prepare for a prolonged period without water.
Uisce Éireann did not provide a reason why no repair teams were sent until Tuesday or why customers were told that the issue was being actively resolved.
A spokesperson said that some households were impacted by 'airlocks' – when air gets trapped in a high point of the system, preventing water flow- and that the service provider deployed plummers to those homes on Thursday.
The householder we spoke to moved into her home in south-west Dublin in 2021 and she estimates her there has been dozens of water outages since 2022.
Though estimated restoration times are usually very accurate and the longest period that families went without water was 24 hours, she said that continuous outages can be disruptive.
A theory among some residents is that the water supply was impacted after the development of a new apartment block near a number of housing estates in the area.
A spokesperson confirmed that there has been 'a number' of outages in the Knocklyon area this year due to old PVC pipes bursting, particularly in cold weather.
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