Published: Wednesday, 13th January, 2010 5:30pm

Water supply disruptions in Athlone likely to continue

by Adrian Cusack

Disruptions to local water services are likely during the remainder of this week as burst water mains continue to cause havoc in Athlone and surrounding areas.

Westmeath County Council has been shutting off the water supply from its reservoirs at night in a bid to conserve low water supplies.

The supply from Annagh Reservoir, which serves large areas on the Leinster side of Athlone, including Coosan and the Ballymahon Road, was shut off from 11pm to 7am on Monday night, and similar measures are expected during the rest of the week.

Ray Kenny, the local authority's Director of Services for Water, stated that water supplies in Westmeath would probably remain at a low level in the coming days even if there was a marked increase in temperatures.

"A concern is that people are still leaving taps running in an effort to stop pipes from freezing, but when the thaw comes that demand for water is likely to be replaced by an increasing number of burst pipes

"We are concerned that, in addition to the damage to people's houses, we could lose a lot of water as a result," he said this week.

Mr Kenny stated that council officials were meeting each afternoon to discuss the situation, and that water supply updates would be posted on the council's website following these meetings.

"We are watching the reservoir levels closely and each day we will be making judgements as appropriate in light of that information."

Council staff repaired a burst water main in Ballinahown on Monday and were working to fix a similar problem in Baylough yesterday.

The local authority has set up standpipes in response to water shortages in the Athlone area.

This week it stated that water was being provided from standpipes at Baylough, Sli-an-Aifrinn, the halting site at Blackberry Lane, Auburn Heights, Coosan and Woodville.

Mr Kenny stated that - a week ago - there had been frozen water mains at some 60 homes in Athlone and this total was likely to have increased significantly as temperatures plummeted in the interim.

Westmeath County Council was inundated with calls from residents reporting water supply issues over the last week.

"Demand for water is up throughout the network and we're seeing a lot of minor leaks, fractures and cracks," Mr Kenny said.

He stated that shutting off supplies at night gave the system a chance to "recharge".

Mr Kenny stated that the council was responding to the conditions on a day-to-day basis and he recommended that householders check the Westmeath County Council website each day in order to keep abreast of the latest developments.

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