Students sent home multiple times as Meath school runs out of water

Louise Walsh

Young students who had to be sent home when a school ran out of water in the searing heat on Wednesday remained home again on Thursday due to insufficient water supplies.

St Columbanus NS in Ballivor, Co Meath had to contact parents to collect their children saying: "I regret to inform you that the school has run out of water.

"We no longer have water for the flushing of toilets. We therefore ask that you collect your child(ren) from the school, if you are in a position to do so.

But working parents had to make alternative arrangements again on Thursday after the school's vice-principal sent out a message to say they had to remain closed.

"I regret to inform you the school will not open today. I have just inspected our water tanks, which remain empty.

"I sincerely regret and fully appreciate the inconvenience this will cause. Thank you for your understanding in this matter, which is outside of our control."

The water shortages are affecting not only the school but also the village, whose residents say this is an ongoing issue, whatever the weather.

Locals fed up with constant water interruptions say they have had to buy drinking water to stay hydrated as temperatures climb and have had no water for showers or washing clothes.

They say that if there is a fire in the village, there is not enough water in the mains for the fire services to access.

Resident and parent of the school Eileen Yates said she has had to replace two washing machines, a shower, three taps, a dishwasher and the valves in the toilets due to damage.

Last week, her washing machine caught fire due to what she believes is sediment and residue being flushed through homes because of low pressure from a water tank that has to be refilled each day by a tanker to supply the village for a short time.

Residents believe the water tower is inefficient to meet their needs, and the infrastructure needs to be replaced and improved.

"Once the water is gone, it's gone for most of the estates in the village. We were told by Uisce Éireann in 2021 that work would be starting on upgrading the water treatment plant and storage tank but nothing has happened," she said.

"In 2024, we were told that it would be completed by 2027. We are halfway through 2026 and works haven't even started.

"Every day, a private company comes with a water tanker to top up the tank but the tank itself only has a three-hour storage capacity according to UE.

"If there is a fire in the village, how will the fire brigade know if there's water in the mains to extinguish it. The last time it happened, the fire services had to wait for a tanker - thankfully, that building was derelict and not a family home.

"There are also people who can't afford to buy bottled water and in the recent heat, dehydration is a big worry."

Claire O'Mara alleged that Uisce Éireann was giving out mixed messages to residents when they called about the service.

"It doesn't matter if it's stormy weather or blue skies, we have constant water issues. Some people are told that there is no issue with the water and others are told there is, when they call.

"Uisce Eireann just seems to give out mixed feedback to people which isn't fair.

"Like all villages, there are babies, elderly and vulnerable who need access to daily water. We should not be out of pocket in buying water to flush our toilets or just to have a drink.

"This seems to be an Irish answer to an Irish problem, in sending out water tankers most days for the last number of years. There are now new homes in the village adding to the pressure on the exisitng water system. It's just ridiculous," added Deborah Moore.

In a statement, Uisce Éireann said that they "understand the frustration" caused by the water supply issues.

They added that the situation in Ballivor "is being actively managed by our operations crew.

"However, we recognise that customers in the area have experienced issues in recent times, including low pressure and intermittent outages.

"While local sources continue to produce water, the volume reaching the water tower has at times been lower than expected, which can affect pressure locally. To increase availability additional supplies are being regularly tankered from Navan to help increase water levels in Ballivor.

"As part of our regular investigations an operative attended the Ballivor area earlier today and was informed that the local school had a normal water supply at that time we are following up on new reports of issues this afternoon. Uisce Éireann actively follows up on all no water calls and are continuing to do so."

Additional works are also planned to clean and improve local storage and upgrade the infrastructure supplying the water tower, Uisce Éireann added.

"These measures will help to strengthen reliability and improve resilience of supply in the area."

Customers without water have been encouraged to immediately report them to the Uisce Éireann contact centre on 1800 278 278.