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Water
woes
DUBLIN
City Council has been urged to improve communications
with the public following extensive disruptions to water
supplies that came as a nasty surprise to many Northsiders.
The call follows a recent weekend of chaos which left
areas of Clonshaugh without water for over 12 hours.
Cllr Anne Carter (Lab) claimed that many of her constituents
did not notice the few advertisements warning of the
disruption.
"The
advertisement was not placed in the local press or on
local radio," she claimed. "I met people on
that weekend who have young children and invalids in
the household, and who were devastated to find that
their water supply was gone at 9am and didn't return
until 9pm that night."
Cllr Carter said the problems encountered over the weekend
highlighted an ongoing issue of poor water pressure
in the Coolock and Donaghmede/ Raheny wards.
"Despite
recent improvements at Leixlip Reservoir many areas
of the Northside, including Clonshaugh, Priorswood,
Ayrfield and Raheny continue to have low and often very
poor pressure," she said.
The Northern Fringe from Finglas to Baldoyle has been
earmarked for the construction of around 25,000 housing
units over the next one to five years.
Cllr Carter remarked: "I fear that the necessary
water supply has not been put in place, and that the
existing housing estates and future new households will
have to face the continuing grave inconvenience of very
poor water pressure.”
A spokesman for Dublin City Council told The Northside
People that advertisements were placed in national newspapers
and on national radio.
"The
media used is being examined to determine if advertisements
can be targeted more efficiently to the areas affected,"
he said.
The spokesman added that any complaint regarding poor
pressures, whether they are from individual houses or
areas, are investigated.
"There
are one or two small areas where there are pressure
problems in the Raheny area," he admitted. "A
solution for these problems is being investigated at
present. We have received no general pressure complaints
from the Coolock, Donaghmede or Raheny areas. If details
of specific complaints are forwarded to us each complaint
will be investigated and followed up."
According to the city council, there is a new water
distribution network proposed to cater for the new developments
in the North Fringe area. This will provide supply to
the new developments and will improve service to existing
consumers. This scheme is out to tender at present and
is due to be completed in 2005.
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