We could be poisoning our kids mullingar mother worried about water supply

A Mullingar mother says that she and many of her neighbours are being forced to spend up to €30 a week on bottled water due to the poor quality of their water supply.

Concerned mum of two Ailish Moran from Grange Heights told the Westmeath Examiner that she noticed the quality of their supply started to deteriorate shortly after their water meter was installed. Last Sunday evening the water was so brown that she posted a video of it on her Facebook page. By Monday evening the footage had been viewed more than 15,000 times.

“It doesn’t taste like water at all, so we just buy bottled water. We have two boys, seven-year-old twins, and at this stage I’m afraid to even bathe them in it – but what can you do. It absolutely turned my stomach yesterday (Sunday).”

Ailish’s partner David Penrose said that when the couple and their children moved in “the water was perfect”.

“We’ve been here two years. Up until they put the meter in out the front and put new pipelines in, the water was great. It’s like worse than algae in the water. Even when you boil it, you can taste it.

“We’re even buying bottled water for the dog because you couldn’t give them that.”

Ms Moran says that her family are spending so much on water, up on €30 a week, that she is considering getting a water tower. She said that her house was not the only one in their estate experiencing problems with their water.

“No one drinks the water around this part of the estate. There are a lot of women who have young kids and they are making formula up. We could be poisoning our kids, but it’s not our own fault.”

The young couple are adamant that they will not pay water charges until their supply is improved.
“They will be getting nothing out of her, not when we have to buy bottles from the shop,” Mr Penrose said.