Resident criticises delay in finding source of water leak
By Mary Dennehy
SOUTH Dublin County Council and Irish Water have been criticised for their delayed action in finding the source of a water leak, which saw a “constant flow” of water run through a Kilnamanagh garden for more than three weeks – and during a drought.
Resident Mick Coady has had a constant flow of water running through the back garden of his Birchview Lawn home, which he estimates is flowing at around 100 litres per minute.
Over recent weeks, Mick has dug a channel in his garden to try and direct the flow away from his house, while putting a call in with Irish Water.
According to Mick, Irish Water sent a representative out within the first few days to test the water.
“A lad came out and he took a sample of the water for analysis,” Mick told The Echo.
“According to Irish Water, there was no fluoride in the water so it wasn’t tap water and [therefore] not their problem.
“The water is crystal clear so it was definitely not sewerage or foul water and because of this South Dublin County Council said it wasn’t their problem.”
Neither taking responsibility
According to Mick, he was being redirected between Irish Water and the council, with neither taking “responsibility” for the issue as it was on private property.
He added: “In fairness, the council ended up sending somebody out and they checked around and cleared some debris from storm drains.
“They said they’d be back to check if this had sorted out the problem… but the water was still flowing.”
In an attempt to discover the source of the water, Mick, who believed the water was flowing underground from higher land to the back of his home, escalated the issue with his local councillors and The Echo.
“The amount of water was scary and it’s terrible that I had to put pressure on to get someone to come out,” Mick said.
“The water running through my back is a constant flow, about 100 litres per minutes, it’s not a dribble.
“If somebody had a hosepipe going they’d be out with a fine, I had [the equivalent] of 150 hosepipes going off in my garden for three weeks during a drought and nobody wanted to do anything.”
Last week South Dublin County Council arrived in Kilnamanagh and investigated an area on Birchview Drive – where residents alerted the council of water logging at another home.
The council dug down through a public pathway and discovered two leaks on Birchview Drive.
According to Teresa Walsh, Director of Environment, Water and Climate Change: “A leak at a residence in Birchview Lawn [Mick’s house] was reported to the council on 22/8/18.
“There was difficulty in establishing whether it was a leak in the water supply pipeline or in the surface water pipeline.
“A camera survey was carried out on the Surface Water system which showed no leaks present.
“A leak detection crew was deployed in the estate and leaks were detected in the water main in the Birchview Drive area.
“The Council’s Water Operations crew repaired two leaks in the water main at this location [on Monday].
“It will take a few days to establish if this has solved the problem.”
When informed of the confusion people experience when trying to report any water issues in their area, Ms Walsh said: “For clarification Irish Water is the national water utility responsible for managing the delivery of water and waste water services to homes and businesses.
“Local authorities retain responsibility for the management of the Surface Water system and customers should contact the council in relation to matters arising with that system.”
