Group scheme cuts water to 40 families

More than 40 homes had their water supply cut off this week in Barnaderg, five miles from Tuam, due to outstanding bills amounting to thousands of euro.

One householder who is a father of four young children says he doesn’t have the €2,600 to pay the Barnaderg Group Water Scheme and he feels aggrieved that he has to pay for a leak he didn’t know he had.

The Group Water Scheme serves 970 houses in a 51 kilometre area and 18 months ago celebrated forty years of clean piped water.

The water supply is free to householders who use below the cut-off 115 cubic metre limit. Householders are obliged to read their own metres about once a month, according to Paul Mannion, Treasurer of the Barnaderg Group Water Scheme, to ensure there are no leakages in the pipeline.

However, a number of householders have been taken by surprise by bills amounting to thousands – some bills have been as high as €6,000.

The father of four admits that his bill of €2,600 dates back to five years ago following a leak that he got fixed.

“I don’t know how to read my water meter, I don’t even know how to access it or if I am even legally allowed to. Nobody ever showed me or told me how to read the meter and as far as I am concerned I never entered into a contract with the Group Scheme,” he said.

For more on this story, see this week’s Connacht Tribune