Slieve Aughty residents using snow for water

While the big freeze has ended for much of County Clare with the last of the snowmen melting away, a number of families on the Slieve Aughty mountains are still waiting for the snow to stop.

Melanie Lorien and her husband Wolf have been without water since before Christmas and been forced to use the plentiful snow that surrounds them as a water supply.
The couple, like many of their neighbours, have been unable to get out of their house for much of the Christmas and New Year period due to the continuous snowfall, which is being compressed into ice. When their water supply was cut off, due to frozen pipes, the couple put their thinking caps on and decided they would shovel snow and melt it over their range for water.
“We’re nearly 900 feet above sea level, up here in Knockbeha. Before Christmas we had ice and then the snow came and every time it rained it froze, so like much of the rest of the county we were unable to get out over Christmas. But since Christmas we have had three to four inches of snow, which has now been compressed into ice. We had a lot of snow the night before last, when three to five inches of snow fell. It has got to the point where even the tractors are having difficulty using the roads. I should say too that there are houses higher up than us in Knockbeha. There are three houses on our lane and two or three above us that have been facing this since before Christmas,” Melanie explained.
Councillor Joe Cooney has also raised concern about families living in Knockbeha. “I couldn’t get up the hill there this week; it is lethal. We were talking to the council about the issue and they called out but unfortunately there’s nothing they can do, as they’re on the minor roads. You’d nearly need a snow plough to sort it out,” Councillor Cooney added.
Melanie explained that during the day, herself and her husband have a routine where they take out their wheelbarrow and shovels and gather snow.
“We go out and we find an outhouse roof, or somewhere where no animals would have been on and we shovel the snow into our wheelbarrow. We bring that in then and put some on the range, and store the rest in the bath. Obviously, we don’t drink it but we use it for filling the toilet and general washing. It takes six litres to flush the toilet, so you really don’t realise how much water you use until you haven’t any,” she said.
Melanie explained that because it’s too dangerous to drive, she, like many of the locals, has to walk in the snow to the nearest house with water so they can wash their clothes and get drinking water, which is a mile away from her house.
“Our neighbours have been great. We have a tremendous community spirit and that kept us sane. I’m walking to get water for over a mile and when the tractors could get up, they would bring us water. I have fallen so many times that I’m black and blue. While we would get snow up here, it hasn’t been as bad as this since 1962, I’m told,” she added.
The situation as it stood on Wednesday evening for Melanie is that while wind had cleared some snow from the trees, “it is as bad as ever up here at the present moment”.
“We have doubly lagged our pipes but it hasn’t helped, we’ve had temperatures of -8 to -11 up here the other day and because we’re on the top of a hill, we only get so much sun in the day. We’re hoping, we’re praying for rain. I will never curse the rain ever again,” Melanie concluded.