Birr hit by water outage yet again

Once again there’s problems with Birr’s water supply today (Sunday the 18th), following two days of water outage on Sunday and Monday September 20th and 21st.

There’s general feelings of dismay, irritation and anger as the people of Birr and its surrounding area have to contend with this problem once again.

Uisce Éireann issued the following statement this afternoon:

“Uisce Éireann is working to restore normal water supply to customers served by the Birr Public Water Supply Scheme in Offaly. This is following a mechanical issue at Birr Water Treatment Plant.

The fault has been repaired, but local residents may experience disruption to their supply and low pressure as the reservoir level recovers and the network refills.

James Joyce, Uisce Éireann, said: “We understand the inconvenience of an unplanned outage, and we thank customers for their support while the essential repair work was carried out and the reservoir recharges.”

Water supply is expected to be returned to affected areas by 7.00am tomorrow, Monday. However, it may take longer for normal supply to be restored to customers at the end of the network or on higher ground as the system recharges.

Vulnerable customers who have registered with Uisce Éireann receive direct communications from us for planned and unplanned outages lasting more than four hours. To register as a vulnerable customer or as an alternative contact, visit our Vulnerable Customers page.

Uisce Éireann is committed to keeping customers informed across multiple platforms 24/7 and we encourage customers to engage with us through our website, X channels @IWCare and @IrishWater and through our customer care helpline which is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278.

Uisce Éireann has a free text service, providing real-time updates f r local issues. Customers can sign up with their Eircode and mobile number at our Text Updates page.”

Councillors Audrey Hennessy Kennedy and Peter Ormond of Birr Municipal District expressed their irritation with the situation on their Facebook pages.

“Simply not good enough,” remarked Cllr Hennessy Kennedy. “I raised this issue at the last Birr MD meeting where I requested a meeting between representatives of Uisce Eireann and Birr MD Councillors. All councillors were in full agreement and a request has been made. Hopefully we can get some answers and hear what is going to be done to resolve this ongoing issue.”

“This is simply not good enough,” said Cllr Peter Ormond. “Another Weekend, another Sunday without water.”