This article is from page 7 of the 2013-07-09 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 7 JPG
CLARE County Council has commenced a countywide survey of an estimated 31,000 domestic water connections in the county ahead of the Government’s introduction of water charges.
However a council official said the local authority staff would not require access to private property while conducting their assessment of water connections.
Carmel Greene, Water Services Department with Clare County Council, said, “The survey duration will be very short in most cases, and so the surveyor will not usually be outside a property for more than five minutes. If any person tries to gain access to a property or home claiming to be part of the water survey team, access should not be given and the gardaí should be contacted immediately.
“Surveyors will carry official County Council photo identification and will be able to present a supervisor’s telephone number for verification.”
The survey work is being carried out on behalf of Irish Water, which is set to take over responsibility for the delivery of water services from local authorities at the beginning of next year.
As part of this work, Clare County Council will be carrying out a visual examination of the connection between the public water mains and householder’s water system.
The council advised there would be no interruption to the water supply and no digging or excavation will be carried out. It also confirmed that homes that are connected to a private water supply or Group Water Supply schemes would not be surveyed.
“As a result of the decision by government to commence a project of meter installation in domestic premises, Clare County Council is carrying out a survey of domestic water connections, in order to gather information to support the installation of water meters for domestic consumers,” explained Ms Greene.
“The survey involves an employee of Clare County Council carrying out a visual examination of the service connection or stop-cock at each property on the public water network. This will determine, in advance, if your home is likely to be suitable for a meter to be installed and, if so, the degree of work required during the installation of the meter.
“The stopcocks are generally located under the footpath at the entrance to the driveway or gate of each home. Householders will be notified in advance by Irish Water of the installation of meters, which is estimated to commence in the coming months.”