This article is from page 6 of the 2006-01-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
A 14-YEAR drought in Clonlara has ended as work began on giving the East Clare area a proper water supply.
More than 100 families in the area have waited since 1991 to get a reliable supply and have had to resort to flushing their toilets with water from the garden pond or water left over from cooking.
The supply was so bad that the emergency fire service tender had to be bought in on a regular basis so that families could wash, cook and clean their homes.
And schoolchildren in the area regularly got unexpected holidays are they were sent home because of a shortage of water in the school.
Local woman Carmel Hayes said that she has lived in Clonlara for 22 years “and I can’t remember a weekend that we had running water. It was amazing to be able to have a shower on New Year’s Day”, she said.
Another local woman, Phyllis Sheehan, said that she could “not put on the washing machine, have a wash or make the dinner when I came in from work. These are simple things that most people take for granted but we couldn’t.”
According to Clare County Council, the problems in the area were caused by low pressure.
Work to make the drought history began two weeks ago but locals will still face some dry times ahead, with warnings that the supply may be disrupted while the job is ongoing.