Ballygarvan And Ballinhassig Residents Want Action On Water Writes JJ Hurley
Residents and Business owners in Ballinhassig and Ballygarvan have called on Irish Water to carry out an urgent upgrading of the public water mains in the area, following another recent breakage in the supply to the South County district.
The most recent incident not only left residents and businesses without a supply of water and forced the closure of Ballygarvan National School, it also resulted in traffic chaos, as the road between Fivemilebridge and Ballinhassig was closed, while repairs were carried-out.
Reacting to the issue, Chairman of Ballinhassig Village Association, Denis McCarthy said, “It has happened numerous times over the past few years and unfortunately it is getting more frequent.
“I think at this stage given the frequency of breakages it is time a major job was done to replace this pipe.”
Cllr Aidan Lombard, who has been inundated with phone calls from residents, parents and business owners on the issue said, “In the last few weeks the school in Ballygarvan has had to close two days at 11am. “This is a huge inconvenience to the parents and staff. It is also having a big effect on restaurants, shops and other businesses.
This main has been breaking for years and you can see all the patching on the road surface, which shows just how many times it has broken”.
“I will be raising it with Cork County Council” he continued, “and Irish Water again next week. It is unacceptable that Irish Water has not progressed the proposed scheme to at least tender stage. I will be asking for them to supply Ballygarvan village with a backup supply.”
In response to the ongoing issue, a spokesperson for Irish Water said: “this pipeline was not one of the priority mains due for replacement or refurbishment in Cork County however due to two number recent bursts in September Irish Water will revisit the case for this main to be included in the next pipeline upgrade programme.”