CITY COUNCIL TO COVER COST OF PIPE REPLACEMENT FOR SPECIFIC CASES

Date Published: 14-Jul-2009

Galway City Council is working on a plan to assist householders, who were affected by lead contamination in the water, upgrade their lead pipes.

Until now, the Council maintained that it’s not responsible for upgrading pipes in private homes.

However for several months, councillors and householders have appealled to the Council to fund the replacement of pipes in homes, which was estimated to cost 1000 euro per house.

Now the Council has negotiated a price of 500 euro per household for the upgrade with an on-site contractor in the Old Mervue area

City Manager, Joe McGrath said in order to fund the upgrade of pipes in homes, savings would need to be made by abolishing the current policy of providing bottled water.

Under the proposed scheme, affected homeowners could apply for financial assistance towards the cost of connecting to the new water distribution system in Mervue.

The grant aims to assist specific income thresholds and those in “specific need” only, such as the elderly and the unemployed.