Sewage residue still on Tullamore street 10 days after flood

A RESIDENT of an area in Tullamore which was flooded with a “sea of sewage” has hit out at Irish Water.

The man, who for more than 20 years has been living close to where sewage frequently seeps out onto footpaths and the public road, said local people have decided to carry out a clean-up themselves.

The move comes after a contractor for Uisce Eireann (formerly known as Irish Water) used machinery to clear away human and household waste at Convent View/Callary Street on Sunday, October 19.

However, the resident has identified large amounts of waste still lying on the ground about a week-and-a-half later, some of which is close to the Fiona Pender memorial and the local shop.

Used toilet paper and sanitary towels are among the items remaining on the public walkway with further material on the canal bank and a visible track where waste continues to pour into the waterway.

The man said Uisce Eireann stated the whole area was cleaned and disinfected after the flash flood.

“If you walk along you will see a lot of residue still along the footpath where children go to school, come home from school,” he said.

“It wasn't all cleaned up and it certainly wasn't disinfected.”

After repeated instances of flooding for many years he believed that local people were now “conditioned” to believe that a clean-up was overseen each time by Uisce Eireann.

He says health concerns about the ongoing flooding are growing in the area, both from “sewer gas” and contamination of the public water supply.

Pointing to sewage residue he said: “If this goes into the fissures it could well go into the reservoirs of the ground water. Are our wells being fed by ground water?”

He said he was not surprised by the flood on Sunday morning, October 19, when wastewater emerged through manholes and inundated the road and paths, resulting in it being closed to traffic just before thousands of hurling fans arrived for the county final in nearby O'Connor Park.

Looking at one manhole he stated: “I can tell you that for the past few weeks it has been bubbling and I've photographs of it and I said that's just waiting to pop. Next thing the rainfall came and it was splashing up.”

Residents have written letters and emails to Uisce Eireann but were not satisfied with replies and many are now considering taking legal action.

READ NEXT: Offaly County Council called on to block national pipeline until flooding issue resolved

In its statement issued after the incident, Uisce Eireann apologised for any inconvenience caused and regretted the impact on the local community.

“A contractor was deployed to the area as soon as possible on Sunday to manage the issue and disinfect the area, including impacted properties.”

The resident, who did not wish to be named, also paid tribute to the efforts of local elected representatives to resolve the problem, including Cllr Declan Harvey, who lives nearby.