“An intolerable situation” says local cllr as Cloonfad community faces more water shortages

The community of Cloonfad has been hit with more water shortages following two significant bursts on the main supplying the village.

Uisce Éireann has outlined that crews are on site carrying out the required repair works at the sites of the two bursts between Lowberry Cross and Cloonfad. Repairs are expected to be complete by lunchtime tomorrow (Wednesday).

These bursts are impacting supplies to customers in Cloonfad, Granlahan South, and surrounding areas.

To support customers, alternative water supplies are being organised and will be in place from 7 a.m. tomorrow morning (Wednesday) at St. Patrick’s Church, Cloonfad and Cloonfad soccer pitch, Lavallyroe.

Customers are reminded to use their own containers when taking water from the tanker and to boil water before consumption as a precautionary measure.

Local Fianna Fail councillor Paschal Fitzmaurice described it as “an intolerable situation” for people in Cloonfad who are being forced to deal with constant disruption to their water supply over the last number of years due to regular bursts.

“These people have suffered more than any other community in Ireland with water outages. At this stage, it is totally unacceptable.

“I have already got a written commitment from Irish Water that the mains from Lowberry to Cloonfad would be replaced in early 2026. But I am now calling on them to speed up the works and make sure this happens immediately. The mains in Cloonfad is ancient and it’s not able to take the water pressure that is needed in the area,” he said.

Cllr Fitzmaurice added that he wanted to thank the workers on the ground who were doing their best to resolve these issues.

Oliver McKeon of Uisce Éireann said: “We understand the inconvenience this is causing, and our teams are working to restore the water supply as quickly as possible. Once normal operations are restored tomorrow, it will take three to four hours for the network to refill and supply to return to all customers, particularly for those properties on higher ground or at the end of the network.

"Vulnerable customers who have registered with Uisce Éireann receive direct communications from us for planned and unplanned outages lasting more than four hours," he said

Uisce Éireann said it is committed to keeping customers informed across multiple platforms 24/7 and are encouraging customers to engage through its website, via X @IWCare, and through its customer care helpline which is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278.

Uisce Éireann has a free text service, providing real-time updates for local issues. Customers can sign up with their Eircode and mobile number at www.water.ie