Dundalk councillor says no prior warning given about latest brown water

Local Fianna Fail councillor Sean Kelly has written to Uisce Eireann saying that local representatives are being “kept in the dark” after reports of widespread brown water in Dundalk over the last day and a half. 

In an email sent to the company councillor Kelly said there was no prior warning:

“Unfortunately in the last 36 hours we have had widespread brown water in this area of Dundalk once again. Adding to this issue there was no advance warning or subsequent communication from Uisce Eireann to state it was happening. 

“This leads to serious complaints being received from the public to us as public reps and them relaying their concerns about water quality. 

“It is simply not good enough that we are being kept in the dark like this. As stated last week we need a dedicated contact person for the Dundalk area to deal with our issues and to inform the public. 

“Uisce Eireann must also come up with a comprehensive communications plan to inform the households and businesses of Dundalk when is the plans for Cavan Hill going forward. A simple to read booklet delivered to each household/business would be a start. 

“Nothing less is acceptable at this point, confidence in communications at Uisce Eireann is at rock bottom and rightly so given the failure to adequately inform the public about a necessity like water.”

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Last week on a visit to the Cavan Hill plant the Democrat was told that there will be no quick solutions to the issue of brown water in Dundalk but there are hopes that a pilot scheme currently being trialed could eventually provide a long-term solution.

A new pilot project has recently begun and is scheduled to be completed in October with hopes it may provide a solution. The pilot will see specialised filters trialled to manage the manganese levels and, if successful, will be implemented on a larger scale over the next two years.

In the meantime, flushing will still take place with a new “network rehabilitation system” being trialled in Dundalk using high velocity water flow to clean the lining of the town’s cast iron water mains.

Water Operations Lead for Uisce Éireann, James O’Hagan, explained that this process will see water circulated through the network a section at a time via fire hydrants using fire hoses which pass through a fine filter chamber vessel.

“There will be no magic bullets but we know it is a problem and everyone here as you’ve seen is working hard to try to fix it,” said Sean Corrigan, Communications Technical Lead with the company.

Mr Corrigan said that Uisce Éireann would endeavour to keep locals affected by the issue updated when possible and acknowledged that many locals have been left frustrated.

“I know that people will be frustrated when they hear that it’s not going to be a quick fix.

“But we’re trying to be honest and open with people and to let them know the problems that we face here, and that we are working towards a long-term solution,” he concluded.