Water returned to more than 34,000 Mayo customers

Information below is relevant until further updates are provided here or on our Supply and Service Updates section

Approximately 260 premises in Mayo remain without water this evening supplying 700 customers. 

This is down from a peak of more than 35,000 customers following Storm Éowyn. 

Following huge efforts, we can confirm that we have now deployed and installed generators at almost all of the plants, pumping stations and reservoirs where it is feasible to do so across County. More than 3,000 premises (approximately 8,000 customers) continue to be reliant on generators for their water supply.

A final few generators are being added today to further reduce the number of customers without water. Having done so we are continuing to work closely with the ESB to prioritise the restoration of electricity supply in the remaining locations.

For some local areas, where feasible, we will work to tanker water directly to the reservoir or into the network to return to supply to customers. In areas where water has not yet returned, alternative water supplies are being provided to support local communities. We are also liaising with Local Co-ordination Groups and Emergency Response Hubs in areas where these have been established. Updates on the location of these alternative water supplies and other supply updates are available on the Uisce Eireann website, www.water.ie.

Alternative water supplies are available in the following locations: 
•    Bangor Erris 
•    Kenagh Church 
•    Bellacorrick 
•    Bottled water at Shammer School, Kilkelly 
•    St Coleman’s School, Cloontia
•    Rake Street, Crossmolina 
•    Ballycastle 
•    St Attracta’s Nursing Home and bottled water at Supermac’s Charlestown 

Customers are reminded to use their own containers when taking water from the tanker and to boil water before consumption as a precautionary measure, as per advice from the Health Service Executive. 

Head of Water Operations for Uisce Éireann in the North West, Anthony Skeffington said that there is a continuing focus on working with the ESB to prioritise power restoration to treatment plants and pumping stations in impacted areas alongside providing alternative water supplies to customers where supplies have been disrupted for longer periods.

“We are working in co-ordination with the National Emergency Co-ordination Group, the ESB and other agencies to ensure all available resources are being deployed to support the return of water supplies. We would like to thank all the agencies and contractors involved in helping us source and deploy generators; we now have these generators in place in nearly all locations where they can be deployed.

“Our priority now is to ensure the restoration of electricity to our plants and pumping stations that are running on generators or remain without power because connection to a generator is simply not possible. We would like to thank the ESB and their crews in particular for their ongoing support in prioritising these sites.

“We understand the impact that prolonged loss of water supply has on our customers. In areas where water supply has been out for longer periods, our teams are providing alternative water supplies, and we currently have 50 locations around the country where alternative supplies are in place. More will be deployed as required, and we will be updating our website and providing information to local stakeholders about their locations. We are also providing additional supports for elderly and vulnerable customers, and we would encourage people to contact our customer care team at 1800 278 278 is additional support is needed.”

Anthony is also reminding customers to continue to conserve water where possible in order to protect supply while the outages are resolved. There are some simple steps people can take to conserve their water, such as avoiding the use of water-intensive appliances during this time. To learn more about conserving water, visit our conservation section.

Customers can stay informed about their local water supply by visiting www.water.ie, via Uisce Éireann’s X feed, @IWCare, or by signing up for our free text alert service via the website. Alternatively get in touch via our 24/7 customer care centre at 1800 278 278.