Frequent water outages in Dunmore East are causing huge problems for residents and business people there.
So says a local representative as a burst mains today has resulted in yet another outage for people.
It's estimated about 400 homes and businesses are on that line.
Councillor Pat Fitzgerald says the problems are due to a very old asbestos pipe that's in dire need of replacing:
"This water mains is past its sell-by date - it should have been replaced decades ago.
"It's now fracturing and practically every second day this line is going down.
"The water supply goes off overnight, people wake up in the morning and there's no water supply.
"It's an impossible situation for people to try and work and live in."
Works should be brought forward
Today's notice says that the disruption to the supply will be in the Killea area of Dunmore East and that Waterford City and County Council, in partnership with Irish Water, are working to minimise the impact of any disruption to service.
They say they will restore normal supply as soon as possible but customers are advised to run their taps if they experience any discolouration when supply is restored.
Councillor Fitzgerald says the pipe in question is due to be replaced in the coming months.
"I don't even know if the old line is going to suffice until September," he said, "because at the rate it's breaking down now, it's just collapsing all the time.
"I'm going to be asked for that to be brought ahead - for work on the line to be brought ahead. It's just totally unacceptable that it has come to this.
"This has been flagged for years and years with Irish Water and before that it was flagged with Waterford County Council."
Putting the cart before the horse
Continuing, Councillor Fitzgerald said that the building of new homes and other activity means the supply is under more pressure than ever:
"At this time of the year, the demand on that particular area is very high with tourism and there's a lot of new houses on the line as well.
"The new builds really have kind of forced the issue, I suppose. That's why they relented and decided to put in the larger pipeline.
"But really, we shouldn't be putting the cart before the horse. The infrastructure should be there before anything happens."
The Sinn Féin representative had hoped to raise the matter at this afternoon's June meeting of the county council.
However, he has told WLR that he has been informed this won't be possible.
For customers affected by water supply issues, the contact number for Irish Water Customer Care is 1800 278 278.
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