A Lismore restaurant has been forced to cancel a number of reservations on short notice this evening on account of poor communications regarding ongoing water issues in the area.
The Farmgate Restaurant were expecting between 50 and 60 couples from 5-6pm this evening but received notification in the last hour that water which was expected to return before 5pm will now not return for another 2 to 3 hours.
Water issues continue to cause widespread disruption in Lismore. Many homes and businesses are without water supply again today due to issues at the local pump station.
The issue has been reoccuring for a number of months and many locals have described the situation as unacceptable.
Owner of Farmgate, Sally O'Brien, spoke to WLR News:
"Disaster has unfortunately struck. We opened Farmgate here in June last year. We're open about seven months. This is the third time that I've had to close. This will be the second time because of water. It being Valentine's Night, we have a full house. We're full in literally five minutes time. I was told the water will be back on for five, so I wasn't going to be cancelling reservations. I've just been told in the last 10 minutes that it's going to be another couple of hours. I don't even know what to say."
"The place is completely fully booked this evening", Sally explained to WLR. "It's Valentine's Night. People are looking forward to going out. They're going to be dolled up, looking forward to their dinner. As it stands, there's not even a trickle of water, so obviously we're not in a position to reopen until we've running water, for obvious reasons. There's no communication. It's absolutely shocking. Really poor. It's quite unbelievable how bad it is. My main concern, really, right now, is all the people that are arriving. It's only five minutes time. Had I known this two hours ago, of course, I would have notified them to make alternative arrangements. It's a huge loss of revenue - and it's just crazy."
In a statement to WLR, Uisce Éireann said several factors have led to the current situation.
"Regrettably, several recent incidents have impacted Lismore's water supply. Uisce Éireann acknowledges and regrets the inconvenience. We would like to assure customers that when an unplanned outage occurs, local water services crews are immediately dispatched to do repair work as soon as possible. Our focus is always on ensuring that the water supply is returned to all customers as quickly as possible.
"Currently, the Lismore area has no storage facility for treated drinking water. Any interruption to production at the water treatment plant immediately affects all customers. Interruptions or low water pressure are often a result of power outages, leaks or bursts on the network.
"Overall, the lack of treated water storage remains a key challenge that will be resolved as part of the long-term solution. Uisce Eireann will be carrying out analysis workshops in the coming months on the provision of storage. This storage will need to be provided in a location that will ensure the long-term sustainability of the Lismore Public Water Supply. Providing a robust, resilient, and safe water supply to the local community of Lismore remains a top priority for Uisce Éireann, but it will require a significant capital investment, including land acquisition, planning, and procurement, which will take time.
"After an interruption to supply, normal water supply can take several hours to return to all customers, particularly for those on higher ground or at the farthest reaches of the network; it can take longer.
"The National Water Resource Plan's preferred approach for the Lismore water supply is a new groundwater source to meet the projected demand. Uisce Éireann has conducted an initial hydrogeology review of the area under the Supply Demand Balance Groundwater Programme and is conducting further investigations this year."
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