Galway Councillor warns community at 'breaking point' with Irish Water

Michael Bolton

An independent Councillor in Galway has claimed locals in Gort are reaching breaking point with Irish Water after further disruption to the community this week.

Independent councillor Geraldine Donohue was speaking after sewage ran down a busy street in the town on Monday night.

A long-running foul smell that has persisted over the community over the past 12 months, one of the many issues Gort has faced when it comes to its water supply, she says.

Cllr Donohue says the community are increasingly frustrated with boiled water notices and water disruptions.

"We had the boil water notice going on for too long, and now we have the sour smell. The proper measures or resources, isn't being done," she says.

"You have businesses such as hairdressers at Christmas on the busiest week of the year that can't take in clients. You had créches that were totally frustrated, there is a limit and breaking point to what you can take."

It was confirmed last week that Irish Water has been fined €7,000 by the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to carry out upgrades to overloaded treatment plants across the county.

In a statement, Irish Water confirmed efforts are ongoing the source of the sewage issues in Gort.

It stated that on the night of February 7th, following reports of a manhole surcharging, Galway County Council immediately mobilised crews and a contractor to clear the blockage. The contractor carried out a CCTV assessment of the sewer network in the vicinity due to a suspected collapsed pipe.

Irish Water said other sources for potential odours in the town "include inadequately managed private pumping stations with septic conditions, pumping directly to the public combined sewer. Uisce Éireann, working closely with Galway County Council is committed to resolving any odour issues."