Residents at a Dublin housing development have been left “confined to their homes” while others have gone 10 days without a proper water supply in the aftermath of Storm Chandra, according to those affected by the damage.
Water supply to those living at the Tristan Square development in Chapelizod, managed by Tuath Housing Association and which opened less than two years ago, was affected after the basement level was flooded during the storm on Monday.
Councillors were informed by Dublin City Council on Thursday that pumps responsible for supplying water to the 180 units had been “destroyed” by flooding.
Replacements have been ordered, though delivery could take three weeks, they were told. A temporary pump was fitted on Wednesday.
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However, supply was disrupted again that evening due to Uisce Éireann works on the line serving the area, with those living on the upper floors of the development saying they were in their 10th day without adequate supply.
One resident who gave her name as Gina said two lifts had been out of order since the flooding, leaving some older residents with mobility issues and those with young children requiring prams, essentially “confined to their homes” on upper floors.
“We can’t flush toilets, we can’t wash ourselves and we can’t wash clothes,” she said, adding that while some had temporarily moved in with nearby family members, that was not possible for others, including her and her daughter.
Living on the fourth floor of one of the blocks, she said she has had “zero to very little water for 10 days”.
“It does affect your mental health when you’re getting two or three minutes a day where there might be a dribble of water,” she said.
“You’d expect something like this from flats that were built 30 or 40 years ago, not an apartment block that’s only been open not even two years.”
Noting how “vulnerable and restricted” residents have been, local People Before Profit councillor Hazel De Nortúin said it was “just not good enough” for a site that was two years old.
Aisling Browne, senior executive officer in the council’s housing and regeneration division, told councillors on Thursday that both the council and Tuath “acknowledge that it is extremely difficult for all residents to be without water for this length of time, particularly families with young children”.
A spokeswoman for Tuath said while water pressure had been reduced due to storm-related damage, particularly for residents on higher floors, “water continued to be available to residents”.
She said a Tuath housing officer had been on site daily since January 27th to support residents and had been “directly accessible throughout this period”.
Residents have been receiving “regular updates”, while about 900 bottles of water were delivered on February 4th, she said.
In a statement on Thursday evening, the spokeswoman said water supply, which was shut off on Wednesday by Uisce Éireann, is “expected to be restored shortly”, while the two lifts are expected to be operational in “the coming weeks”.
“Tuath Housing recognises the disruption caused by the severe weather, which is outside of our control, and understands residents’ concerns,” she said.
The spokeswoman said Tuath remained “actively engaged on site and continues to work closely with all relevant parties to restore full services as quickly and safely as possible”.
