Updated at 9.20pm.
RESIDENTS OF AN apartment building in Tallaght say Irish Water, the local council and the developer of the complex are adopting a ‘Pontius Pilate’ approach to water leaks in their homes.
Thousands of litres of treated water have been pouring into the drains of the complex for the last three weeks, according to the residents of the New Bancroft Apartment Complex.
They say that South Dublin County Council, Irish Water and the developers of the apartments — Park Developments — are all claiming someone else is responsible for resolving the problem.
“A new lake has formed on the basement floor and their water pressure is vastly reduced,” local Sinn Féin TD Seán Crowe said.
In correspondence with the TD, Irish Water said the leak was on the private side of the development, that it wasn’t flooding the basement car park and that Irish Water was not responsible for the repairs.
The email from Irish Water [Screengrab]
“I am no engineer but I personally witnessed with my own eyes and registered with my own ears, the water pouring out of walls, flowing and gurgling down into the car park drains,” Crowe said.
South Dublin County Council state that the developer is responsible — but Park Developments claim that they actually handed over that section to the local authority.
Crowe said the mess underlined the uncertainty surrounding water repairs “despite the assurances of the Environment Minister Alan Kelly recently in the Dáil saying that there would now be greater clarity on the water issue”.
Who’s responsible?
Irish Water has been responsible for public water services since 1 January this year. Local authorities act as agents for the semi-state under ‘service level agreements’.
Under current legislation, responsibility for repair and maintenance of the internal water distribution system “from the main stopcock to the house and within the house rests with the homeowner”.
Crowe, who has been in contact with the Council as well as Irish Water, says that three weeks after reporting the leaks “residents are still none the wiser as to who will now fix the problem and who is ultimately responsible in situations like this”.
“They are also out of pocket financially, are making long frustrating phone calls, have been given contradictory answers, have to deal with reduced water pressure, and a lake in their basement car park.”
TheJournal.ie has contacted Park Developments and South Dublin County Council for comment.
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