Achill suffers from water shortage

Thousands of householders on Achill Island in Co Mayo were without water over the bank holiday weekend

Thousands of householders on Achill Island in Co Mayo were without water over the bank holiday weekend. This was despite Met Éireann's latest records showing 22 days of heavy rainfall in the county during the month of July.

An inadequate water supply on the busy tourist island has become the norm during holiday periods.

Increased demand on the public water supply means that the county council must rotate supply on the island.

For some islanders a lack of water pressure means that only a trickle of supply comes through the taps.

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A Fine Gael councillor, Mr Pat Kilbane, said it was an ongoing problem on Achill, but within a few months the situation should be resolved.

"The tenders are about to be issued for the building of a one-million-gallon water reservoir at Bunacurry.

"When this reservoir is completed the poor water quality should be rectified," Cllr Kilbane said.

"Increased demand on the water supply over a holiday weekend with large numbers of tourists on Achill tends to seriously affect the supply."

He said the new €1.6 million new water reservoir would solve the problem.

"The documents have been with the Department of the Environment for 18 months, and Mayo County Council has only been given the go-ahead to issue tenders for the development within the past number of days," Cllr Kilbane said.