RESIDENTS of Westbury have said they live in “the forgotten part of Co Clare”, a county councillor has advised fellow elected representatives.
Ongoing issues with the old water mains that supply Westbury, Shannon Banks, Carraig Midhe and the wider Parteen area require a solution, Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF) flagged at a recent sitting of the Shannon Municipal District.
He appealed to both Clare County Council and Irish Water to resolve the matter. “There has been quite a number of leaks on this stretch in recent years making the pipework not fit for purpose,” he stated.
Over the last twelve to eighteen months, there have been approximately a dozen occasions when there has been a burst pipe taking the best bones of a day to fix, Cllr O’Gorman recounted with residents complaining of issues every month. “It is mayhem down there every time it happens”.
Thousands of houses are affected, the Cratloe representative detailed. “Residents are really cheesed off with the whole system because the pipe work isn’t fit for purpose, we will be back again next year and the following year with the same issue if Irish Water don’t do something. Westbury residents keep saying to me they are the forgotten part of Clare, it’s not true because a load of work has been done down there”.
Comments from Cllr O’Gorman “have been said before in the last two or three years”, Cllr Michael Begley (IND). He calculated that there had been 33 disruptions to the water supply over the last three years. An overlaid stretch of road that was recently completed from Larkin’s Cross to Clancy’s Shop will have to be cut up when the main is replaced, he highlighted. The Clonlara native felt it was “a piece of capital expenditure” that should be treated with urgency by Irish Water.
Pressure must be applied to Irish Water, Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) maintained. “There is a lot of kicking the can down the road going on. We need to up the ante, Irish Water can’t be let off the hook on this”.
Senior executive engineer in the Shannon MD, Tom Mellett advised that their roadworks programme was re-jigged to facilitate the laying of the main, “we don’t have a timeline on when it will take place, Irish Water are aware we’re putting in an overlay for 2022, there will be cost implications for them if their work is not done before then”.
