Water supplies are set to be restored to farmers in Tipperary affected in recent days by low water pressure and supply outages.

Farmers supplied by the Ardfinnan public water supply were particularly affected.

Planned remedial works were delayed due to local authority workers taking strike action since Wednesday after a dispute between the Unite trade union and seven local authorities around the country, Uisce Éireann stated on Thursday.

The strike action was due to end at midnight on Friday, but it is now understood to have stopped at 1pm, which will allow workers re-enter affected treatment plants to restore supplies.

Build up

“It is expected that water supply will build up from this afternoon and will be back supplying homes, farms and businesses as soon as possible,” local independent Councillor Mairín McGrath said.

“Due to the severe shortages of water in Tipperary, Tipperary County Council utility staff have once again shown their commitment to the public by agreeing to temporarily pause their industrial action 11 hours earlier than planned in an effort to restore water to the public.”

After industrial action had been taken, Uisce Éireann had not anticipated works at the plant commencing until Saturday and had expected some customers at higher elevations to be affected until Monday 7 August or Tuesday 8 August.

Calls for solution

Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) south Tipperary chair Pat Carroll had called for a solution to be put in place for farmers affected by the supply shortages to safeguard animal welfare.

“While we fully respect people’s right to take industrial action, there needs to be a solution put in place to ensure a safe supply of water for livestock until this dispute is resolved,” he had said before workers agreed to re-enter the plant.

“Farmers in Tipperary and surrounding counties are concerned for the welfare of their animals.

“It is shocking that an essential service like water supply is unavailable for thousands of households, families and farms in the region.”

Future plans

Carroll stated that planning must be put in place for future scenarios similar to the one experienced this week.

“Livestock need a consistent supply of water. Contingency plans should have been put in place to avoid disruptions to water supply like we are now experiencing,” he said.