'When the problem is acute, people can’t shower': Ballyhooly residents ask for timeline on improvement of water pressure issue

Residents of Ballyhooly are calling for a timeline for fixes to a water pressure issue that has been affecting the village for over a decade.

Social Democrats TD for Cork East Liam Quaide raised the issue in the Dáil on Thursday, saying: “When the problem is acute, people can’t shower. They can’t bathe. They can’t cook, they can’t use dishwashers or washing machines. Toilets don’t fill properly. Gas heating systems are affected, at times leaving people without heat and hot water.”

Independent councillor Peter O’Donoghue, told The Echo: “While I was canvassing, I was astounded by the stories I was told. Mothers unable to bathe their children, people going without showers — that this was happening in 2024 was absolutely unacceptable to me.”

The chairperson of Ballyhooly community council, John Howard, said: “To say this has been going on for years would be an understatement, I moved to the village 10 years ago — but it was an issue prior to that.”

Kiera Scanlon, who lives in one of the estates most impacted, moved to the village in summer 2024 and instantly found their heating and showers to be not adequately working.

“The summer was really bad, for two months the water was just a trickle. It impacts everything in the house — heating, dishwasher, washing machine, shower. When [it’s] really bad you can’t flush toilets, you can’t wash your hands. The water coming in isn’t enough to fill up the tank, so sometimes you can be in the middle of having a shower and the water is just gone.

“It did get a little bit better when the kids went back to school in September, but it’s still not sufficient,” she said. “We had no heating over the winter, and we have been getting onto Uisce Éireann frequently to ask what’s being done. Is there a timeline? We just want to know how much longer we have to live like this.”

An Uisce Éireann spokesperson told The Echo: “Due to network capacity constraints in Ballyhooly, if there is any slight increase in leakage or demand, the pressure in the network drops and this can, at times, lead to supply interruptions and low pressure.

“A specialist ‘Find and Fix’ crew was deployed, identified a number of leaks in recent weeks, and carried out the required repair works. This has resulted in increased water pressure along the network and customers should notice an improved level of service.

“Uisce Éireann’s operations team has also implemented other remedial measures to provide additional water to the village and surrounds.”