Taste concerns on water plans for Ballymore, Kilcullen
This follows a statement from IW that, as part of this project, 'infrastructure will be put in place to facilitate a connection [from the Barrow] to Ballymore WTP'.
People in Ballymore are interpreting that as the beginning of a process to have the hard-water Barrow supply provided to Kildare consumers while the softer water from the Poulaphuca Reservoir will be fully diverted to Dublin.
The Ballymore WTP is operated by Dublin Corporation, and 90pc of the treated water from there already goes to the Greater Dublin distribution system.
Kilcullen is served directly from the Ballymore WTP, which accounts for the good taste of the drinking water that has long been a feature of this area. The underground reservoir at Old Kilcullen services Newbridge, Calverstown and areas south. Since the middle of 2013, the Ballymore water in Old Kilcullen has been mixed on a 50:50 ratio with water from the Barrow.
Though the Barrow supply is treated at source to reduce hardness, there have been complaints both about taste and the formation of scum in heated drinks from the communities served by the Old Kilcullen reservoir, including Calverstown, Narraghmore and Newbridge.
Much of the current concern arises from unofficial conversations at both the Ballymore WTP and the Barrow treatment plant at Srowland, Athy. Both Cllr Evie Sammon from Ballymore and Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer of Brannockstown became separately aware of the possible acceleration of the project.
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| Cllrs Tracey O'Dwyer and Evie Sammon. |
"Originally we were told that water would be pumped from Athy to Ballymore Eustace and blended with the Poulaphuca water, and then Ballymore, Brannockstown and Kilcullen would be served from the blended source.
"Then we were told that all three communities and parts of Naas were all going directly onto the Athy water source. And two days ago we were told that the Athy water link to Ballymore is just an emergency measure if Dublin runs out."
Cllr Sammon says there were rumours about the project some years ago, and when the Council contacted Irish Water they were told that the proposition is 'far down the line'. "That was the case on two subsequent queries. But we haven't had a response this time, which is concerning."
In a post on the Ballymore Community Development Association Facebook page, chair Kerrianne O'Sullivan says she and many locals who are recently aware of the plans 'are not comfortable about it, to say the least'. She posted a response from IW to the Association's query, which is as follows:
“There is currently a project underway to extend the supply of water from Srowland to parts of North Kildare. Through this project, infrastructure will be put in place to facilitate a connection to Ballymore Eustace WTP. This will facilitate the augmentation of the water supply from Ballymore Eustace to provide additional resilience during emergency periods.”
Not everyone is convinced about that last line. "Feck Irish Water, they're trying to sneakily get this through," one Ballymore resident told the Diary. "And no one is noticing because we're in the midst of a pandemic!"
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