Louth family bringing vacant home back to life stunned by quote to connect to sewer mains

A Dundalk family who have their hearts set on bringing a vacant property on leafy Mount Avenue back to life say they got the shock of their lives when a quote from Uisce Eireann to connect to the waste water mains dropped through the door.

Last March Eamonn Matthews received permission from Louth County Council to alter and extend the property, which is located close to the Ard Easmuinn junctions on Mount Avenue.

The house had been vacant for around five years and was in a poor state of repair, so Eamonn hoped to avail of the vacant homes grant to assist with the substantial cost of the renovation work.

The vacant homes grant can cover as much €70,000 of the build costs, depending on the nature of the work carried out.

However, when Eamonn made an enquiry to Uisce Eireann, formerly Irish Water, he received a quote of €72,000 to connect to the existing mains network, which is 64 metres away. The price came as a massive shock to Eamonn, who had browsed online forums prior to contacting Uisce Eireann and estimated that it might be in the region of €200 to €300 per metre.

“I couldn’t believe it and it’s prohibitive,” he said. “We included a septic tank and waste water treatment system in our planning application, almost as a last resort if we couldn’t get a mains connection, but now it looks like we have no option but to install one.

“It’s an urban setting, so that’s not the most environmentally friendly option, but at €72,000 we will have no choice.”

The Mount Avenue area is currently undergoing extensive work with a new €7m link road under construction that will connect the Carrick Road to Mount Avenue, through Lis Na Dara.

Fine Gael Councillor, John Reilly, has entered into discussions with Louth County Council and Uisce Eireann to connect a number of houses on the Casstleblayney Road side of Mount Avenue to the mains. He insisted at a recent Council meeting that no homes in urban Dundalk should be using septic tanks in this day and age.

There are also residents closer to Eamonn’s side of Mount Avenue exploring the option of installing a spur at the rear of their own properties and then connecting to the mains.

However, none of those solutions are possible in Eamonn’s case due to distance or gravity.

Given that he needs a dedicated pipe run of his own, he wonders if Uisce Eireann has purposely made the price prohibitive, as he can’t fathom how the bill could come in at €1,125 per metre, even in the current climate of inflated building costs.

While the Government is making a big deal out of bringing vacant properties back into use and offering substantial grants, he says people should be aware of the” hidden costs”, such as connecting to the mains, which can wipe out a grant in one fell swoop.

In response to a query on Eamonn’s situation, Uisce Éireann said: “Uisce Eireann is committed to supporting customers who require a new or upgraded connection to the public water supply or wastewater collection infrastructure. Uisce Éireann assesses all connection enquiries on a case-by-case basis, to determine what upgrades if any are required to facilitate connections for each individual development.

“It is important to note we apply a ‘least cost design solution’ which means that a customer will only pay for the infrastructure driven by them to service their development. If during detailed design or site investigations an alternative technical solution to support the connection or a more suitable connection point is identified, resulting in a reduced connection charge, this will be discussed with the customer.

“Quotable charges are applicable for additional works that are required beyond the parameters of a standard connection. Quotable charges, in cases where there is a requirement for network infrastructure upgrades or extensions, are calculated on a case by case basis using our approved regional contractor rates in an equitable manner based on the construction work required, such as ground conditions, other services or utilities in the area, traffic management requirements, materials required, health and safety considerations and road opening licences and road reinstatement requirements.

“The Connection Charging Policy provides for a consistent connection service and a uniform, transparent and fair charging approach to all connecting customers. It is equitable and non-discriminatory and follows significant precedence in other utilities. It also provides a safe end-to-end connection service to customers nationally.”

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