Ongoing water problems in the Trim Area a Disaster
Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín and Aontú local area representative Jack Lynch have been in contact with Irish Water multiple times since January in relation to major water outages in Trim and surrounding areas. The latest problem occurred over the weekend in Ballivor where the majority of the village were left without water. This morning we spoke with Irish Water who have said that they are aware of a burst mains pipe in Ballivor village and are working to resolve the issue.
In January Trim experienced a major drop in water pressure as the volume of water in the reservoir dropped to a very low level. We met with local representatives of Irish Water to find out how exactly this occurred. They said that due to the fact that many people are working from home with Covid-19 restrictions, there has been a 15% in demand for water locally. The system should have been able to cope with this increase as the river Boyne was about to burst its banks at the same time. Maintenance of the reservoir was also under way in January which caused Irish Water to turn off its supply to the town but all this highlights that the system is old and is in bad need of a major upgrade.
The population of Trim is growing every year and with more housing planned for the town we need to ensure that the infrastructure can keep up with the demand for water that is increasing all the time. Many people may choose to remain working from home after Covid and when businesses such as pubs, restaurants and hotels reopen, we need to ensure that the water system can manage.
Ballivor has also been experiencing problems with the water quality for a number of months. Families are reporting brown water is coming from the taps and young families cannot use the tap water to make bottles for their babies.
Irish Water have said that they will be investing in the upgrade of the Trim area reservoir over the coming years and we welcome that, but it needs to happen fast. We have requested a follow up meeting with Irish Water representatives to point out the urgency of the problems particularly in both Trim and Ballivor but also in other areas such as Enfield.
