Irish Water admits it will take 'years' to resolve West Cork supply issues
The Clonakilty Told Number Of An To Is Solution 'irish A Priority The For However Years,' 'increasing Of Supply Delivery Water Water, Water The Will Of Examiner' Take The Spokesman Still Irish The Irish Highest
Serious water supply issues affecting a large area of West Cork will take years to remedy, Irish Water has confirmed.
There are fears that the ongoing problems obtaining water connections for new developments in Clonakilty, Rosscarbery, and Timoleague will hamper housing and commercial developments into the future.
A spokesperson for Irish Water confirmed to the that there is an issue with supply in the Clonakilty area.
“There are some limitations on the capacity to provide water and/or wastewater connections in parts of West Cork.
"This is not unique to West Cork and applies to different areas nationally.
"This is a legacy issue due to decades of under-investment in the infrastructure which Irish Water has now begun to address."
The spokesperson said the addition of any new developments at this point in time "will have a negative impact on service levels to existing customers".
"Capacity constraints can be for a number of reasons including plant capacity, network capacity, availability of water sources, potential impacts on the environment from additional water abstraction, and/or wastewater discharge," they added.
"Initial workshops with Cork County Council operational staff will help to agree on details of the solution.
"Increasing the water supply to Clonakilty is of the highest priority for Irish Water, however, the delivery of the solution will still take a number of years due to the scale of works that will be required.”
At Cork County Council’s recent Western Divisional Committee meeting, Courtmacsherry-based Fine Gael councillor, John O’Sullivan, said:
"This is a catastrophe for the area. If we can’t develop businesses and housing the area is going to stagnate and our young people will be forced to leave. There is no supply of water, that’s where we are."
Independent councillor, Paul Hayes, said new flood relief works put in place in Clonakilty should have included rainwater harvesting technology and that the supply issue is now the “elephant in the room” in Clonakilty, Rosscarbery, and Timoleague.
Fianna Fáil councillor, Joe Carroll, added: “The County Development Plan currently being drawn up will be seriously affected by this. If there is no water for developments then what’s the point in a plan?
"First we were told they could get water from Curraghalicky Lake, then it was coming from Bandon, now they are talking about Inniscarra," Mr Carroll added.
County Mayor Gillian Coughlan said there is now a crisis in the provision of housing for the area and better communication and a more constructive relationship between Irish Water and local representatives is essential to tackle the problem.