Ballivor still suffering from water shortages

While many householders experienced problems with their water supply during the recent cold spell, for residents in Ballivor, low water pressure or being left with no water at all remains an ongoing problem. Issues with the village's supply means that residents frequently experience very low water pressure and, in the past week, many householders were once again left with no water at all for several days. Joan Parker, who lives in Amberwood, said that while they had water yesterday (Tuesday), at times they have no water at all and, last week, their water was gone for several days. "We might have a bit of water in the mornings, but there were two or three days last week when we didn't even have that. It is very difficult for washing and cooking and we couldn't even flush the toilets," she said. There was a water tanker in the estate, but Ms Parker said this was fine for cooking but was no good to wash yourself. Brendan Bagnall is the postmaster in Ballivor and is also the proprietor of the village's laundromat. He said: "The bottom line is there are businesses in Ballivor that depend solely on water such as the hairdressers, the laundromat and the coffee shop. There were days when businesses literally had to close because the water pressure was so low, or gone." Mr Bagnall said that, at times, the water pressure is too low to drive the washing machines and, on other days, they have no water at all and have to close the laundromat. "We had a very choppy January. You can never be comfortable that the water won't go or guarantee that it won't happen," he said. Mr Bagnall added that in a six-month period, he might have to close three or four times. Karen Traynor, who runs the B Cafe in the village, said the water pressure is very low and she is afraid of damaging her coffee machine and other appliances if they run out of water. She said some people she knew had no water all over the weekend, and had to send their children to school without their uniforms because they had no way of washing them. "Sometimes the water pressure gets so low here, you are afraid, it won't fill back up again," she said. Local councillor Tracey McElhinney said they would have to push Environment Minister John Gormley to get Ballivor prioritised in the water scheme. "People can't continue with having no water and low pressure and with it being switched off so often to conserve water. It is high time something was done about it. We had no water at the weekend and a friend had to go elsewhere to get her children's uniforms washed," she said. Ballivor's water supply is unable to keep up with the demands of the growing village and the solution is to connect the village to the larger supply at Trim, but funding had not yet been allocated for such a project, according to Meath County Council. Council spokesperson Bill Sweeney said: "The project was included in Meath County Council's Water Needs Assessment carried out in 2009. The projected cost is €2.9m and it is priority number four. The needs assessment has been submitted to the Department of Environment, Health and Local Government for funding under the Water Services Investment Programme 2010-2012. "To date, no announcement has been made by the Department on funding for the Water Services Investment Programme." In the meantime, the council is continuing to tanker water into the local reservoir to supplement the supply from local boreholes.