Ross' has had its fill of water outages

ANGRY Rosscarbery residents are to petition Irish Water to fix a pipe network that has broken 23 times in the last 18 months.

Billy Horgan, chairman of the Burgatia-Bohonagh Water Mains Replacement Committee, said the mood at a public meeting at the Celtic Ross Hotel last week was one of anger and frustration.

Mr Horgan said about 70 residents and landowners, as well as six business people, have come together to highlight the ‘inexcusable and repeated water restrictions in the area due to burst pipes.’

The group will petition Irish Water, Cork County Council, and all of the region’s public representatives.

Three days after the meeting there was a further water break and the residents in that area were without a supply from 3am until 5pm last Saturday.

Mr Horgan welcomed a statement issued by Irish Water saying that 4.9km of aging pipework in the Rosscarbery area is scheduled to be replaced as part of a 15km project on the Clonakilty Regional Water Supply Scheme in the next year.

However, Mr Horgan and Cllr Christopher O’Sullivan (FF), who raised the issue at a meeting of the Municipal District of West Cork this week, said the 4.9km does not include Burgatia or Bohonagh. 

Cllr O’Sullivan has called on Irish Water to replace the section of water mains that starts at Newmill on the N71 and continues on via Bohonagh, Burgatia, Frehanes and Cahermore to Froe.

Residents said the aging pipe network should have been replaced before the recent resurfacing of the road. One resident, Catherine O’Sullivan, claimed that the ‘new’ surface now resembles a patchwork quilt, because it has been dug up so many times.