Hundreds of homes were left without water supply
HUNDREDS of homes were left without a water supply last Sunday in parts of Enniskillen, Springfield and Monea due to a fault.
A spokesperson from Northern Ireland Water gave an assurance to the Herald that the problem was unrelated to watermains maintenance work currently taking place on the Lough Shore Road, and he explained the fault lay at the Crawfords Hill service reservoir.
“NI Water became aware of a telemetry (measurements are made at remote points) problem early on Sunday morning which disrupted pumping to Crawfords Hill service reservoir and affected supply to some local customers.
“NI Water technicians were immediately on site working to resolve the issue. The majority of customers were back on supply by 1pm, and the remaining 40 properties that were situated on higher ground had supply restored by 3pm.
“During the restoration of supply, some customers experienced some discolouration with air in the water when the pumping station was started. Throughout the restoration of supply, water quality was not compromised and was safe to use.”
Through the Herald, the spokesman thanked customers for their patience whilst the issue was resolved.
Local Councillor Alex Baird, whose own water supply was also cut off on Sunday, explained that he had been away for the weekend and came back to discover the problems with the supply.
“I went to use the tap, and I knew from the bursts of water that there was air in the system and it had been off.
“When my mother-in-law got up on Sunday morning at eight, her water was off although I think her’s came back on at 11.”
But, Mr Baird said the difficulty experienced by local people was not helped by having no local Northern Ireland Water representative to contact.
“I understand that there were numerous houses, maybe into the 100s in the Monea area and beyond, that may have been affected, and it certainly caused inconvenience, especially at the weekend.
“While I realise the water infrastructure is antiquated, we do expect more,” he added.
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