Minister Martin Heydon along with Cllr. Tracey O’ Dwyer met with representatives from Irish Water today to highlight issues relating to connections and water quality concerns that have been raised with them by Kildare South constituents.
“Pockets of Kildare South have been experiencing ongoing issues with water discolouration, taste, smell and limescale for months. In response to these concerns, Irish Water said that some of the discolouration can be attributed to the new Barrow Water Supply Scheme works. It was agreed that there are also issues relating to existing pipe infrastructure some of which are older and in need of replacement. Irish Water undertook to examine this concern as there is a scheme to replace older infrastructure around the Country.
“We also highlighted the length of time it is taking constituents both residential and commercial to get connected to Irish Water systems. This is causing frustratiosn and delays for potential house purchasers. Irish Water undertook to review the cases that Cllr O’Dwyer and I raised.
“In addition, at the meeting today we were also keen to address the status of Conditioning Unit at the Srowland Plant in Old Kilcullen, a unit that removes lime from the water and was in operation up to March of 2019 at which point Irish Water discontinued it. Irish Water have agreed to re-examine this decision. and will revert back to us with their findings.
“We also sought reassurances from Irish Water that the water quality in Kildare South had not been compromised in any way, is safe to drink and what measures had been taken on foot of recent reports regarding water quality issues in Ballymore Eustace and other counties.”
“Irish Water confirmed that refresher training had been carried out with Kildare County Council engineering staff in the area of identifying what is a water quality issue and the protocol around reporting issues. An EPA audit was carried out at the Srowland Plant and the preliminary report indicated the plant is performing very well and this report will be made public in the coming weeks through the EPA website.
“We will continue to work with Irish Water to ensure continuity in Water quality is delivered to the residents of Kildare South and that connections are completed in a timely manner. We will continue to pursue these issues until we get satisfactory outcomes,” concluded Minister Heydon.