Arklow residents without water supply for six days

Efforts are to begin on Friday morning to restore water supplies to an apartment development in Arklow, Co Wicklow, after a burst pipe cut the supply last Saturday.

Residents of St Mary’s Court, a converted convent, who have been without water for sanitation, cooking and drinking for six days say they have not been provided with water tankers.

Resident Jojo George told The Irish Times the water supply ceased to function on Saturday and was noticed by a number of residents in the early hours. He said he had three children and no washing facilities, while a number of the residents were elderly.

Mr George said residents had contacted the council, their local councillors and Irish Water but nobody had taken responsibility for the problem over the past number of days.

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Local councillor Miriam Murphy said the former St Mary’s convent was converted into apartments 15 years age and a complicating factor was that there was no obvious sign of leakage. “The water wasn’t flowing out anywhere nearby,” she said. Residents had hoped Wicklow County Council, which also rejected responsibility, would provide water tankers, but this was not to be, she said.

Irish Water said its local team had determined the leak was not part of the public water network but on private property and, as such, the utility had no authority to carry out the repair.

However, on Thursday afternoon, a spokeswoman for the apartment owner’s management company said water tankers had been sourced and an agreement negotiated with the local council and local residents to allow the tanker to park opposite the complex.

The spokeswoman said she had been working for six days to find a tanker and a contractor to fix the broken pipe. “Irish Water was very helpful in assessing the situation and providing advice about where the leak might be. We had hoped that Wicklow County Council would send in a water tanker on a humanitarian basis, we even offered to pay for it,” she said.

Asked why it had not provided water tankers on a humanitarian basis, Wicklow County Council said the apartments at St Mary’s Court were in a private development and not public infrastructure. The council said in cases where issues arise with the public water infrastructure, it would be Irish Water which provides water tankers. The council confirmed assistance had been provided in allowing parking for the tanker on St Mary’s Road.

A large amount of road works are under way in Arklow, and St Mary’s Road leading to the convent is a narrow road with heavy traffic from two nearby schools.

Local councillor Pat Fitzgerald said many of the six-member Arklow Municipal District Council made representations to Wicklow County Council to send in water tankers, but the council had been unable to do so. However, he said it was “very good news” that efforts are to begin on Friday morning to fix this leak and restore water to the homes and families “so seriously affected by this”.