Uisce Eireann respond to water issues impacting Lismore for months

A series of actions announced by Uisce Eireann last week aim to address the ongoing water issues that have been disrupting the town of Lismore for months.

The issues have greatly impacted local residents, schools and business in the area.

The community was recently updated on plans to build a new reservoir as well as progress in reducing leakage across the town.

Jim Fitzgerald, Regional Operations Senior Manager for Water at Uisce Éireann, explained, “We will be building a new reservoir, which will provide backup water storage to the town. Additional land is required to build a new treated water storage reservoir, which we are progressing. Specialised leakage crews have been dispatched to Lismore to support local crews and intensify efforts to find and fix leaks."

Mr. Fitzgerald added that steady progress has been made to fix leaks, with the rate decreased from 46% to 32% since January. 

Uisce Éireann met this week with the local community and stakeholders in Lismore at a briefing chaired by Minister of State at the Department of Housing and Local Government and Heritage, John Cummins.

Jim Fitzgerald, who met with the local community, continued, “We accept that operational issues at the water treatment plant and challenges on the network have caused ongoing disruption for the local community."

Minister Cummins said: "It was a really productive meeting for all involved."

Sinn Féin TD for Waterford, Deputy Conor D. McGuinness welcomed the action, adding that he hopes "the measures will not be just empty promises".

“This has had a hugely negative impact on the everyday lives of individuals and families, as schools were closed, and households were unable to function properly. 

"Local businesses took a hit, as they were forced to close on a number of occasions over the last few months resulting in a loss of hundreds of thousands of euro. Their distress seen across the whole town shows that there is no room for misleading promises.”