PAT Madden, a resident of Cúl na Gréine in Shannon, has said he is having no luck with getting Irish Water to repair an apparent leak at his house, which is leading to a colossal waste of water.
Speaking about his water meter on Monday, he said, “It went in on November 7 at 11am, I photographed the old meter coming out and the new one coming in. There were 23 litres on the new one which is acceptable for testing and that. They fitted it and went off about their business.”
He said that from then on the meter was “ticking away merrily for itself” and it has recorded a massive amount of water, far beyond what his own use could justify. “From the seventh of November until the 24th of January, last Saturday there was 1,586, 000 litres gone down the tubes. You can take out the tiny bit that I use, because I live on my own.”
To put that figure in context, it is estimated that an average person uses 52,000 litres of water in a year, more than 30 times the meter is indicating was used in less than three months.
While flat rate charges take the financial burden away from the consumer, it shows a massive waste of water resources.
Efforts to get it repaired have borne no fruit. “I contacted Irish Water twice, I contacted Clare County Council twice, because I live in a Council house and it’s their property. Tony Mulcahy was talking to me about an issue the other day and he said he reported it.”
Speaking about the matter on Tuesday, Senator Mulcahy said, “I got a reply from Irish Water saying they were going to go out and look at it and they need to get it resolved. If there’s clean potable water going into the ground it’s unacceptable.”
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.