Storm Darragh was just the latest disruption to Trim water supply - Boyne

Persistent problems with Trim's water supply particularly in the aftermath of Storm Darragh were raised by Cllr Dave Boyne at the Trim Municipal District meeting.

"Over the last couple of days I have been inundated with calls about what is going on with the water in Trim," he said. "What is it with the water that it is so intermittent. What is the issue and when is it going to be fixed. Is it Irish Water or Meath County Council. Who is the person to contact about it."

The Aontú councillor questioned why there wasn't an emergency response from the council and why there weren't water tankers in Trim while the water was out.

Director of Services Des Foley said the responsibility for water was with Uisce Eireann and that while Meath County Council can be tasked by Uisce Eireann to do works on their behalf, the responsibility for water lies with Uisce Eireann. He said they also got a lot of complaints and concerns but that Uisce Eireann is the agency responsible adding that the understood the frustration of councillors

Mr Foley outlined that capital works are ongoing at the Trim Water Treatment Plant which are due to be completed next year and that these would hopefully address the issues in Trim. In terms of tankers, he said the responsibility for this also lies with Uisce Eireann.

Cllr Padraig Coffey asked whether the water treatment systems have back up generators for the pumps and asked for clarification on this. Cllr Ronan Moore suggested that they should to Uisce Eireann about the failure to supply tankers.

While Cllr Boyne was highly critical of the water situation, he praised Meath County Council's teams for their response to the Storm Darragh damage, which was reiterated by the other councillors.

Mr Foley thanked the councillors for their comments about the council response to the Storm Darragh. "The council did huge work over the weekend in this district and across the county in removing trees and debris, getting roads back open again, working with the other utilities to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, I would like to thank our own staff here in particular for the work they did over those number of days."