'We are in a crisis': West Cork villagers fear ongoing water outages will spoil Christmas

There have been 14 outages in Adrigole since July and locals have started a campaign to get Uisce Éireann to take action to resolve the issue

'Our biggest fear is the uncertainty that the water can go at any time. We are concerned that there will be no water when people come home to their families over Christmas.'

People living in a West Cork village are worried Christmas festivities will be marred by ongoing water outages and have mounted a campaign in a bid to get Uisce Éireann to take action.

There have been 14 outages in Adrigole since July, and anger among local residents was reflected at a recent meeting convened by the Adrigole Water Action Group (AWAG). The meeting was attended by more than 100 local people, along with a number of public representatives.

Local businesses, farmers and households with vulnerable people shared examples of the devastating effect the outages have on daily life.

“We are in a crisis. The pipe at the Healy Pass road is beyond repair and needs replacing immediately. We need a long-term solution," said AWAG spokesman Kieran O’Shea.

"Our biggest fear is the uncertainty that the water can go at any time. We are concerned that there will be no water when people come home to their families over Christmas,” he said.

“In the back of our minds, we don't want to be worrying people but we have a very serious problem. We need Uisce Éireann to step up to the mark and help us and the people of Adrigole. We know the problem and we know the solution. Getting Uisce Éireann to work with us though so far has proven very difficult. We don't need empty promises and we need action now,” he added.

Uisce Éireann was invited to send a representative to the meeting but did not.

However, the utility did send the action group correspondence on the issues.

It said the county has experienced below-average rainfall and drought conditions over the past year which has led to depleted water sources.

Combined with increased summer demand, this may have contributed to temporary interruptions in water supply for some customers during the summer months.

Uisce Éireann pointed out there were also a number of outages caused by bursts on the network in the county in recent months, and water pipes can burst due to a combination of factors including pressure surges, external damage, or operational factors.

It went on to say the frequency of bursts in Adrigole and other areas in the county is taken into consideration when prioritising water main rehabilitation projects.

Uisce Éireann went on to say: "We are, however, limited in what can be rehabilitated each year and projects are considered for inclusion subject to national prioritisation, available resources etc. We will share further updates in this regard once available.’

However, Mr O’Shea said the group was "disgusted, annoyed and angry with the response we received from Uisce Éireann. It shows their lack of knowledge and unwillingness to engage with the problem here in Adrigole.”

He described the public meeting as very constructive, and said it was agreed local TDs would work together to seek a meeting with Uisce Éireann and housing minister James Browne, who has responsibility for the utility.