Customer enraged at Irish Water charging €27k for connection to wastewater mains

Edward and Yvonne McCormack, Rochestown, Cork, showing the last five metres with a measuring tape, of the total 20 metres distance from the waster water manhole opening on the road to the boundary at their front wall.Picture: Denis Minihane.

A Rochestown resident has been left dismayed by Irish Water’s decision to charge him over €27,000 to install 20 metres worth of pipes to connect his new home to the wastewater mains.

Edward McCormack, originally from Tipperary and married to Cork woman Yvonne, bought a house on the Rochestown Road last December.

The house dates from the 1920s and needed significant work.

“We applied to Irish Water for a new connection to wastewater on January 16, 2020,” said Mr McCormack.

“After repeated phone calls and emails lasting six months, we received our letter of offer. They tried to say Covid-19 had an impact but they were sitting on my application for eight weeks prior to anything being shut down.”

Irish Water said the cost to connect the boundary of Mr McCormack's property to the sewage mains, which is 20 metres, is €27,677.15.

“Based on Irish Water’s connection charges on their website, I am being charged €3929 for the first ten metres. For the next five metres, it is €2210, at €442 per metre," Mr McCormack said.

Edward and Yvonne McCormack, Rochestown, Cork, in front of the house they purchased which is undergoing a full renovation. Picture: Denis Minihane.

The overall fee includes a €250 "road opening license fee" and a further €7,561.64, which was described as “quotable additional costs associated with opening road license”.

“I had budgeted up to €10,000 for a connection to the sewer, because I looked at their website and saw the prices for the meters. I thought an extra five metres wasn’t going to be anymore than €3000," he said.

“They also want roughly €8000 for opening up the road and resurfacing it."

The couple had gas installed at a cost of about €250, which included digging into the road.

Mr McCormack accepts Irish Water has to resurface the road, but he said he doesn’t understand why the entire lane width has to be resurfaced, or why the customer bears the cost.

He feels like he has no other option but to install a septic tank, which would require planning permission.

“We were hoping to move into our house at the end of August, but I cannot afford the cost of this connection.

Mr McCormack and his wife are currently living with his in laws. They moved out of their rented accommodation to save up for the house. 

Irish Water said they cannot comment on individual cases but those seeking connections should submit a pre-connection enquiry prior to construction, as feedback can be given on estimated costs.

Edward McCormack, Rochestown, Cork, pointing to the waster water manhole opening on the road a distance of 20 metres to the boundary at the front wall of Edward and Yvonne's property which is over his right hand in the photograph.Picture: Denis Minihane

“Irish Water’s standard connection charge, as approved by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU), covers service connections (typically transverse road crossings) of up to 10m from the property boundary.

“Where a network extension is required to facilitate a service connection, this is a quotable cost and the customer will receive a bespoke offer.

“The costs associated with such an offer depends on local factors, such as ground conditions, other services or utilities in the area, traffic management requirements, health and safety considerations and road reinstatement requirements.

“If the road has been resurfaced in the last five years, Irish Water has to reinstate the full lane width following excavation in line with the requirements of the road authority, rather than just reinstating the trench width itself, which has a significant implication on the cost.”

In a statement, the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities said: "The CRU decision on domestic connection charging covers approved standard connection charges up to 15m and beyond that, quotable charges are applied by Irish Water."

It said costs can vary "depending upon trenching and/or reinstatement requirements".