Frustration in Mayo town due to repeated water outages

Some homes and businesses in Crossmolina and the surrounding area have been without water for over five days due to major faults with the local supply.

There have been outages on the Lisglennon water supply route in recent days and this has led to a number of bursts on the water mains. There has been a significant impact on water supply in the area with low water pressure and intermittent supply among the issues faced by residents and businesses.

Last Thursday evening, Uisce Éireann crews identified a burst water main that affected homes and businesses in Rathnamagh and its hinterland. Water tankers were supplied for those affected and the repair was completed by Friday evening.

Crews also responded to an outage at a nearby location on Sunday and it was repaired, but the main had burst again by Monday morning, leaving about 100 customers in the Abbeytown and Churchfield areas experiencing supply disruptions. These repairs were ongoing at the time of writing.

The issues with the Lisglennon supply resulted in the Tobermore water supply being backfilled to cover other areas and this has affected customers on this route, leading to low water pressure and intermittent supply at times.

Local councillor Michael Loftus acknowledged the work being done by Uisce Éireann crews but said he was disappointed at the removal of key water staff from the area.

“A lot of people with experience of Crossmolina have been moved to different areas or positions and taken from us,” he said. “It is difficult when you don’t have the good knowledge, not just from retirements but from people being moved around.

“We had a good man in Crossmolina who knew where every valve in the town was but he has been moved to another area. 

There are lads out looking for leaks and I commend them, they’re doing fantastic work. It is not easy in this weather to be out there."

Cllr Loftus said the last week has been a “nightmare” for people and businesses in the area. particularly those affected for over five days.

Uisce Éireann Water Network Operations Manager Colette Scahill acknowledged the “frustration” this situation can cause and reassured customers their crews were doing all they could to make repairs.

"Unfortunately, often when repairs are made to one section of water main, it can place increased pressure on a nearby section and lead to a burst.

“We acknowledge the frustration that persistent bursts on the network can cause for impacted customers, and we thank residents and businesses in Crossmolina for their understanding as we work to resolve the issue.”