LONG READ: Sewage, water quality and accessibility concerns raised in this Kildare town

Concerns surrounding water quality and / or supply in at least three different regions of one County Kildare town have been detailed by residents.

Last month, the Leinster Leader interviewed Joe Burke, who has lived in the Dara Park region of Newbridge for over 40 years. 

Mr Burke detailed the alleged presence of a poor sewage system in the estate.

He also noted that former TD Patricia Ryan previously sent emails and photographs detailing alleged sewage issues at Dara Park to Uisce Éireann / Irish Water (UE), as well as Kildare County Council (KCC). However, UE never responded to her emails.

When contacted by the Leader, Ms Ryan corroborated this claim from Mr Burke, the latter of whom has since provided a copy of the emails to the Leader.

UE was asked by the Leinster Leader to comment on his allegations, but the organisation did not respond for comment.

Now, Mr Burke has continued to highlight what he believes to be difficulties related to water (and now also footpath and grass) management.

KCC was asked by the Leader for comment, but did not respond in time for publication.

In addition, the Leader has been contacted by a resident from The Meadows and a resident from The Elms (both of which are located in Newbridge), who have also criticised the alleged poor supply of water in their respective home regions.

DARA PARK

Agreeing to a field interview with the Leinster Leader, Mr Burke, alongside Liz Kavanagh (a resident of 21 years) and Mag Gogarty (a resident of over 40 years), gave the Leader a tour of Dara Park and discussed the presence of alleged poor water quality and supply in the region.

During the tour, Mr Burke also repeated his previous assertions that there has "always been issues" relating to sewage in Dara Park, which he said was built on bog land.

He also claimed that the sewage system was "badly constructed" and "not fit for purpose". 

Furthermore, Mr Burke reiterated his view that Dara Park has been "forgotten" by UE.

Ms Kavanagh, who has lived in Dara Park since 2004, also told the Leader that she has to use bottled water instead of relying on her own tap water. 

She also claimed that if she uses her water pitcher, which has a filter in it, for more than a week, she has to clean it out as it starts to "go green".

The pump present in Dara Park. All photos by Martin Connelly

Ms Kavanagh further highlighted visible issues with her two shores in her back garden (which she also has to clean regularly with a rod) and an unusual odour which emanated from her tap water. 

One of the shores mentioned by Ms Kavanagh

While traversing Dara Park, Mr Burke also pointed out a number of shores under walls, in addition to areas overgrown with grass and areas of the ground that were cracked or had holes in it.

Shores situated under garden walls

He also showed two different large stones which were used to block sewage during an alleged previous bad bout of sewage flooding.

One of the blockage stones mentioned by Mr Burke

In addition, he pointed out one shore in the estate that had a foot-shaped hole beside it.

The shore with the hole in the ground beside it

Speaking to the Leader again after this interview, Mr Burke told the Leader: "Enough is enough. I will go to a national paper if I have to."

THE MEADOWS

Natasha Enright is a resident of The Meadows estate who alleged that she has experiencing problems with water in her home. 

According to Ms Enright, who is a mother of three children, this is a far-reaching issue for The Meadows: she claimed that around 160 houses in region are affected by the alleged lack of water supply, and that some people are allegedly out of pocket due to constant plumbing difficulties.

She alleged that the water in her home has been cutting out regularly, sometimes every second day.

As a result, Ms Enright has been unable to flush toilets, and has experienced inconsistent water pressure with her shower. She also claimed that she has had no hot water since Easter time.

Ms Enright gave examples in which the lack of water has allegedly been affecting her and her family: she and her daughter struggle to remove their make-up; her son cannot shower properly after playing sports; and she is unable to wash her recently neutered dog.

"All these little but important things pile up," Ms Enright said.

In addition, similar to Ms Kavanagh, Ms Enright claimed that she has had to resort to buying bottled water.

Ms Enright also told the Leader that she has queried UE multiple times over the alleged lack of water supply. In response, UE allegedly told her that a plan is in place to resolve the matter, although UE has allegedly not given her a clear timeframe.

She further said that UE recommended for her to avoid using water in the evening. However, she works a 9.30pm to 6.30pm job so this is difficult for her.

Ms Enright maintained that she is now determined to address the situation, and informed the Leader has been speaking with Residents Associations of different estates. These include residents in: The Oaks, Ballymany, Roseberry Station Walk, White Oaks and Old Connell estates.

"We want to fight this," Ms Enright insisted. "All we want is water and a timeframe [for remedial works]."

She also detailed a recent event in which a man came to her home to inspect the water supply.

According to her, he said that the top floor of her three-storey home is not getting any water, and also that the cause of the difficulties originates from water connections which are located outside of the house, not inside.

Ms Enright added that she has photographs to prove this and has also previously spoken about her water grievances on KFM. She also said that she has been in consistent contact with the Mayor of the Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District, Fine Gael councillor, Peggy O'Dwyer, to discuss her situation, something which the Mayor confirmed to the Leader.

Ms Enright further claimed that while UE told her that it had sent her a letter, she alleged that she had never received it.

RESPONSE TO TD

Lastly, Ms Enright showed an email to the Leader which she received from Fine Gael TD for Kildare South Martin Heydon. In this email, UE told Deputy Heydon that it has opened up a query on its system for him. 

The Leader asked Deputy Heydon, who is also the Minister for Agriculture, to confirm this.

In response, Deputy Heydon said: "My office has received a number of queries in recent weeks regarding reduced water pressure in areas of Newbridge."

He also said that his office has "raised them on a consistent basis with UE" and were recently advised by UE of the following: "UE are aware of poor pressure and supply difficulties in the Newbridge area. UE are conducting site investigations on the larger network feeding this area to see if there are any unknown restrictions.

"This will involve traffic management and planning with Roads Authorities. Part of the network feeding the Newbridge and surrounding areas has experienced higher demand in recent years due to growth."

The organisation added: "UE are planning to rehabilitate part of the network. UE are due to conduct site investigations imminently. This will be followed by detailed design and rehabilitation.

"These works are part of the 2025 schedule. However, the network will have to be closely monitored and managed as we have a large and aging network so unfortunately, it is susceptible to unplanned bursts."

"Works to install a pump at L7039 which will alleviate pressure issues at a small number of houses in the vicinity are planned," UE concluded.

Deputy Heydon further said: "I understand the frustrations caused by the recent disruption. I have spoken directly with senior engineers in UE also and I continue to stay in close contact with them, as they work through responses to issues that arise at short notice and solutions in relation to the longer term rehabilitation of the local network."

THE ELMS

When it comes to The Elms estate, one resident, who wished to remain anonymous, also detailed their alleged experience with poor water supply in their home.

This resident told the Leader that the alleged complications first began sometime around late December / early January.

They explained: "We first noticed that the mains water would go every evening, so we started buying bottled water to drink, and we noticed that we often wouldn’t have enough water left in the tank to have a shower in the evenings either.

"At the time, there was some snow and frost, so we put it down to possible issues with the pipes freezing, but that obviously wasn’t the issue as it has continued everyday since. The water usually returns around midnight every evening."

The resident also alleged that the recent heatwave further aggravated the situation: "We lose water a lot earlier now. It would usually be gone from 5pm or 6pm but now it can be gone from 3pm or 4pm.

"We have started doing a few things in the early afternoon, like making sure that our kettle is full, that we have a jug of water full so we can drink water in the evening, and that we have a bottle of water full for washing our hands and brushing teeth at night time."

Further compounding matters for this resident is the new measures they claimed they must take in order to look after their dogs: "We have started making sure that we have a fresh bowl of water out for them in the mornings and another fresh bowl out by 3pm before the water goes.

"We also use the bottle or jug that we have filled to give more fresh water in the evening if need be. It is also frustrating in the hot weather trying to bathe the dogs, as it can only be done in the mornings now but we both work full time so this isn’t possible."

When asked if they have been in contact with any local representatives about their alleged dilemma, they replied that they had been in contact with Social Democrats Cllr Chris Pender. In response to a question submitted the Leader, Cllr Pender said that he has has received "nonstop" messages regarding water-related concerns in Newbridge.

The resident also claimed to have been in correspondence with UE since January.

However, they have been displeased with their interactions with the organisation.

They explained: "We have had a pretty bad experience with them in terms of receiving inconsistent answers and our investigations being closed with no real reason given.

"For example, they initially closed our first investigation as they deemed the low water pressure our households fault, but after escalating this (as we had been onto plumbers who confirmed it was nothing to do with our house), they confirmed it was an issue with high demand on the Allen reservoir and the reservoir not being able to keep up."

The resident added: "We have asked UE what we can do for our house but we continuously get vague answers and it appears that they have no intention to remediate the problem in the short term. We are really frustrated with their responses.

Echoing Ms Enright's dilemma, they said: "For example, they have suggested that we shower and use appliances (washing machine and dishwasher) during the day before the high demand period, but we both work standard hours and so this is just not possible."

UE was asked by the Leader for comment, but did not respond in time for publication.

UPDATE — May 29, 2025, 5.21pm approximately: A representative of KCC responded to Joe Burke's comments on Thursday, May 29 last.

For the grass management concerns, they said: "KCC can confirm that a contractor, on behalf of KCC, maintains the grass on the large open space between Dara Park and Lakeside Park.

"This grass is cut on a fortnightly basis, except for the areas agreed with residents in advance, which are allowed to grow longer and are cut every six weeks to benefit biodiversity.

"Following the receipt of this query, the area was inspected and the grass maintenance is meeting the required criteria and frequency of cuts."

Regarding the status of the footpaths and sewage concerns, the KCC rep said: "There is currently no funding available to carry out footpath works in Dara Park, Newbridge.

"Additionally, the sewage issues are the responsibility of UE, who has sole responsibility for the cleaning and maintenance of the public sewer network."

READ NEXT: New opening hours sought for this Kildare restaurant