Sit-down water protest forces work withdrawal
Residents sat down in front of digging machines on Tuesday forcing the contractor to withdraw.
Limerick County Council want to replace the present supply in Pallaskenry which is sourced from a local lake named Bleach Lough.
The council say the supply from the lake is not adequate to meet demands for piped water in the area.
It wants to pipe water from the River Deel, which locals say is badly polluted.
After a previous protest stopped work, four objectors gave an undertaking to the High Court not to interfere with pipe laying pending a judicial review set for hearing on June 15.
However, others moved in to prevent pipe laying, which was resumed on Tuesday near a white boundary line put down by the objectors. A council official warned the protesters they would face court action if they did not withdraw.
One of the protesters, Donal O’Brien, said they reactivated their barricade when contractors tried to dig closer to the white line on Tuesday.
“We forced them to stop the work and people brought chairs and deck chairs to sit on the road. There was room allowed for traffic to pass. There has been no work for the past number of weeks and the digging had stopped about 15ft from the white line.”
He said none of the four people named in the High Court was involved.
He accused the council of trying to barge their way through with a supply from the river.
A council spokesman said a supply needs to be put in place from the river as the lake supply does not have the capacity to sustain local development. He said the lack of an adequate water supply was hindering the granting of planning permissions, and supply from the lake gets the exact same treatment as water taken from the River Deel.
The council is due to go the High Court today to seek an injunction to stop eight named protestors holding up the work.
