Raw sewage problems bring rats into residents’ gardens
By Aimee Walsh
AN INVESTIGATION into a drain issue has been requested after complaints from residents who say that the issue is causing raw sewage to spill out of their drains and attracting rats into their gardens.
At a recent council meeting, councillor Carly Bailey requested a motion that an investigation is launched into the drain issues at Hillsbrook Grove Estate in Perrystown. According to residents in the area, problems with sewage coming through their drains began when a laneway collapsed several years ago.
The sewage spilling out from the drains
Speaking with The Echo, Cllr Bailey said: “I am not suggesting that [the footpath collapsing] is definitely what caused it, but the resident’s point is that it is a huge coincidence that after it happened, they began to start experiencing problems.
“What they have experienced is the drains backing up, a lot of them are in their back gardens and one or two of them have them in their front gardens and literally raw sewage is coming up and there are rats everywhere.”
In her motion, Cllr Bailey said: “Irish Water have refused to look into this any further and residents advised that the laneway collapsed a number of years ago and feel that this is the cause of the current issues.”
When the motion was put to the council by Cllr Bailey, the council responded by saying: “An investigation including camera survey was carried out on the drain between 18 and 19 Hillsbrook Grove on May 28, 2021.
“There were no defects found in the drain and the drain including Broads trap were operating satisfactorily.
A blocked drain
“There was a blockage on this drain earlier this year, which was cleared.
“We’re aware that the residents have been in contact with Irish Water since that blockage to enquire about the ownership of this drain, and that Irish Water have stated that it is private and belongs to the house owners that discharge to it.”
A resident from the estate spoke to The Echo about the ongoing issue, which he says has been happening for roughly four years.
“The laneway collapsed approximately four or five years ago and afterwards I emailed the council and they resurfaced it about three years ago. I asked at the time had all the pipes been checked at the time and asked for a report and never got one.
“Different people have called out different drain companies over the years and have been paying for any unblocking and we have been calling them out about four or five times a year.
“The last time raw sewage started to spill out onto the laneway. The smell in the whole area was horrible.”
The resident explains that this sewage brought a rat infestation into the area, with kids having to be kept off the nearby playing fields due to a rat hole in the middle of it.
“A lot of the residents are elderly and especially during Covid when they were cocooning, their back gardens were there to keep them going through that really difficult time.”
Cllr Bailey says that although she received an email from Irish Water confirming that there is a problem, the council have said that during their inspection there were no faults found.
“On one hand Irish Water are telling me there is something wrong and then on the other the council are saying that they have had a look and there isn’t, so there is an inconsistency there, but it is the responsibility of Irish Water,” says Cllr Bailey.
The residents have been told to wait and see if and when it happens again to get in contact with Irish Water again to try and resolve the issue.
