Changeover to hard water supply sparks fears in Tipperary

A public meeting has been requested to discuss changes to Clonmel’s water supply that will result in more homes and businesses receiving a hard water supply.

Consumers who were previously served by the Poulavanogue treatment plant will soon have their water supplied from the Monroe Water Treatment Plant, where Uisce Éireann says a major investment of €23 million has taken place.

The move has sparked fears among people that they will experience similar problems to those who already receive their supply from Monroe. People in those areas, on the northern side of the town, have stated that they regularly have to replace appliances including electric showers, washing machines and kettles because of the build-up of limescale caused by hard water.

The call for an “urgent public meeting” has been made by community activist Joe Hawkins.

In a post on social media, he says “I am calling on the Clonmel community to wake up and stop sitting back while Irish Water pushes what I believe is a reckless agenda of water infrastructure investment in the town of Clonmel.

“If the people of Clonmel do not want to be subjected to further hard water disruption, problems with kettles and household appliances, and unnecessary upheaval, then now is the time to speak up and take action.

“If the majority of people in Clonmel want to stop these plans, we cannot continue to sit back and allow decisions to be made without proper community involvement.

“I am therefore calling on our elected representatives to urgently convene a public meeting for the people of Clonmel.

“We need the community, our representatives and all relevant stakeholders around the table. We need clear answers, proper consultation and a commitment to protecting the interests of Clonmel residents.

“The time to act is now. We cannot wait until the disruption begins before we raise our voices. If we want to stop this, we must stand together and make sure our concerns are heard”.

Several other people have taken to social media to voice their concerns.

One person stated, “We live in the Ardgeeha Road area and it’s constant heavy lime in the water. Everything is destroyed. Even with two different at-source lime prevention systems, we are having to replace the electric shower unit every two years at a cost of €400, €300 for the unit and €100 for installation.

“It’s the same for the washing machine and kettle, and the sinks and taps never look clean, even with constant cleaning. Even washing the car leaves white spots all over it”.

Another person said,“ We are on it up here since 2007/08. I'm on my third water softener, fourth washing machine, third shower and couldn’t tell you the amount of kettles. Two bags of decent salt is €28 every six-eight weeks, depending on usage”.

Uisce Éireann says that the €23 million investment on the upgrade to Clonmel’s water supply will deliver a safer, more reliable and resilient water supply for homes and businesses across the town.

In a letter to those affected by the changeover, it acknowledges that while hard water is perfectly safe to drink, it can result in limescale forming in kettles, domestic appliances and household pipework.

Uisce Éireann says that the law does not require the company to remove hardness from drinking water.

The company said that the project was undertaken to address a number of long-standing challenges with the Poulavanogue water supply.

“Built in the 1950s, it has experienced ongoing issues due to ageing infrastructure, the long-term availability of source water and raw water quality challenge”.

“The Water Supply Upgrade Project forms part of Uisce Éireann’s ongoing commitment to upgrading water services across the county.

“The project includes an extensive upgrade of the Monroe Water Treatment Plant, a new pumping station at Rathronan, the construction of new water mains across Clonmel and network upgrades designed to strengthen security of supply and improve resilience across the wider network.

“This milestone (i.e. the switchover of supply from the Poulavanogue Water Treatment Plant to the Monroe plant) will mark the culmination of years of planning and investment and will provide customers with the benefits of a modernised and more resilient water supply network. The upgraded infrastructure has been designed to improve reliability, enhance water quality and provide greater security of supply for customers for many years to come.

“The investment also includes connecting all customers supplied by Monroe directly from the Giantsgrave Reservoir, further strengthening the network and helping to protect homes and businesses against future supply interruptions.

“It will also provide the capacity for operational crews to provide a more resilient and reliable supply of water for customers along the Cashel Road, as the network can be adjusted to use water from Monroe to supplement supply if needed during periods of low water reserves at Glenary”.