Constant water outages in Ratoath proving to be an ‘absolute disaster’ for local businesses

A RATOATH restaurant owner who was forced to close his doors 18 times last year due to water outages says constant disruptions have left his business with an uncertain future.

Russell Bailey of La Bucca Restaurants should be celebrating 20 years in business this October but fears he may not be open to see the anniversary as a result of constant water outages and road traffic chaos.

“The water situation in Ratoath is an absolute disaster,” said the business owner who has eateries in three locations in Ratoath and Ashbourne.

“We should be planning a 20th anniversary celebration in October of this year but I don't know if I'm even going to see it the ways things are going,” he added.

“We have had 18 water outages in the last 12 months in Ratoath, which resulted in 18 different closures of the coffee shop and the restaurant.

“On New Years Eve we had to close the coffee shop and we were in the process of cancelling all of our bookings for the restaurant but then the water came back that evening so we phoned a few people that we had already contacted to cancel and got some of them back again, some of them already made other plans.”

Every morning is consumed with ensuring the water is in operation in his premises according to Russell who said:

“The first thing I do every morning is check with the staff in the coffee shop that opens at 7.30am to see if we have water. “The local employer is calling for the government to introduce a subsidy for staff wages when businesses are forced to close as a result of water disruption.

“In the coffee shop in Ratoath the coffee machine is fed directly from the mains so once the water is gone we have to close and send the staff home.

“I have lost a couple of staff members because they are not guaranteed the hours because once we are closed, we're closed. I was at a public meeting about six months ago attended by local ministers and one of the asks from me was some kind of wage subsidy to at least pay any staff member that gets sent home as a direct result of not having water, I think there should be a subsidy in place for them to be paid.”

Water outages is not the only problem faced by business owners in the area, on going road works is also causing challenges.

“I suppose I'm lucky that I have a restaurant in Ratoath as well because anyone living north of Ashbourne, don't bother coming into Ashbourne anymore and some of them come to Ratoath instead, but others go in other directions,” he added.

“Anytime between 4pm and 6pm there is just no point and as a consequence we have very little early evening trade in the Ashbourne restaurant.

“I genuinely believe that the town is a no-go area in peak hours whereas in Ratoath we'd have a fairly busy tea time trade.”

The restaurant trade is already struggling due to rising costs according to the business owner who says additional blows are devastating.

“If you look at the number of restaurants that are closing down anyway because of the costs of running a business and because of things like the VAT rate going up as well as the increase in minimum wage, the utilities, everything is spiralling out of control so to lose business to other factors that are completely out of your control is soul destroying.”

Tim Tang, owner of Eatzen Restaurant in Ashbourne is also feeling the impact of the water supply issues.

“On New Year's Eve we had no water coming into the premises, it was very messy, we were fully booked on that night and we had to cancel all reservations on what was one of the busiest nights of the year,” he said.

“If there is a disruption, it is understandable but we need to be informed so we can turn the pumps off and minimise the damage to the pump because otherwise it will continuously pump all of the debris underneath the tank into the pipework.”

Local Fine Gael Cllr Alan Tobin said: “Our decades long water problem looks like it will continue until the end of 2027 at the earliest. Crumbling pipe work from Donore to Curraha has to be replaced. This is over 20km of pipeline.

“As Uisce Éireann continue to invest, it is imperative that contingency plans are put in place to prevent businesses from having to close when the water network breaks. Water outages have cost local businesses thousands of euro and none get refunded their water charges or even receive an apology! Business owners, staff and their customers in both Ashbourne and Ratoath need to be assured that they can remain open and will have storage tanks filled when required as soon as practically possible.”

Uisce Éireann response

Uisce Éireann says it is progressing a number of "strategically important projects" which represent "major capital investment" to address the ongoing disruption to services in the Ashbourne area.

The organisation added that it is aiming to provide "a safe, sustainable and reliable water supply" in East Meath including Ratoath, Kilbride, Ashbourne and surrounding areas.

"Regrettably, there have been a number of recent bursts impacting the water supply to Ashbourne and Ratoath," said a spokesperson for Uisce Éireann.

"Uisce Éireann and Meath Co Council acknowledge and regret the inconvenience and we would like to assure customers that when bursts occur, water services crews are immediately dispatched to find the burst and carry out repair works as soon as possible," they added.

As part of the Windmill Hill Reservoir and Trunk Watermain to Ratoath project, Uisce Éireann is replacing over 7km of old and problematic water mains that are prone to frequent bursts and outages. The old water mains are being replaced by larger, modern, more resilient pipes which will also address low water pressure particularly for customers in Ratoath during periods of peak demand.

The project also involves the construction of a new, state-of-the-art, elevated 4.7 million litre treated water storage reservoir and secondary disinfection system, adjacent to the existing Windmill Hill Reservoir according to Uisce Éireann who said:

" Installation of the new, modern trunk main is now complete and over the coming weeks Shareridge Ltd. will be arranging to carry out remaining testing, making key connections and chlorination in advance of making the new pipe live.

"Uisce Éireann is also progressing plans to increase the storage capacity at Staleen Water Treatment Plant with the construction of a new, 8 million litre treated water storage reservoir which will safeguard the drinking water supply in the Navan/Mid Meath and East Meath region."