Uisce Éireann crews making progress in effort to restore water supplies in Mayo
Uisce Éireann is making progress restoring a water supply to Mayo customers after 15 of the county’s 19 water treatment plants lost power during Storm Éowyn.
Electricity has been restored at seven of those plants, with Uisce Éireann running the remaining eight on generators.
Uisce Éireann’s Colette Scahill explained that the majority of Uisce Éireann’s customers affected in Mayo have seen their supply return, with crews on the ground working to deploy generators and provide alternative water supplies in areas where water has been off for longer periods.
Restoration of power at the Lough Mask water treatment plant, the county’s largest serving almost 50,000 people, on Saturday evening was a huge milestone.
“Ballina was the only large urban area that did not lose water and while we have our water treatment plants back in operation, many rural pumping stations continue to have no power and are causing disruption to water supply,” said Colette.
“We apologise to customers who have been without water for a few days and ask for the public’s continued patience during this challenging time. In areas where water supply has been out for longer periods, our teams are working to provide alternative water supplies and we currently have 50 locations around the country where alternative supplies are in place.
“More will be deployed today, and we will be updating our website and providing information to local stakeholders about their locations.
“We are also providing additional supports for elderly and vulnerable customers, and we could encourage people to contact our customer care team at 1800 278 278 if additional support is needed.”
Colette is also urging customers to conserve water where possible in order to protect supply while the outages are resolved. There are some simple steps people can take to conserve their water, such as avoiding the use of water-intensive appliances during this time. To learn more about conserving water, visit www.water.ie/conserve.