Water connection charges - New build

MW2015

Hi, I am building a house at the moment and I have just received a bill from Irish water for €5,500 to connect to water mains that is located at our gate. This is on top of €2,000 ESB fees and €9000 Meath coco contribution fees. This amount seemed extortionate and apparently there will be more fees to follow from Meath coco as they are effectively now losing this money to Irish Water. Does anyone have any advice about who I should talk to about this? I feel like we are being robbed at this stage!!

mr_edge_to_you

We built 6 years ago, at the time we were paying Co Co for water. Your combined bill (IW + MCC) is slightly less than what we paid in total Meath Co Co. ESB is the same.

I found Meath Co Co were fairly uncooperative. We asked about paying the water installation in installments with the stage payment drawdowns. They said yes. A week later when I asked why wasn't the water yet connected they said it had to be paid in full before they'd install the meter. But ye, you can pay installments!

I'd be surprised if you get any cooperation.

The best thing is maybe to pass it on to the local TDs and maybe someone else might benefit at some stage in the future.

AnCatDubh

MW2015 wrote: »

apparently there will be more fees to follow from Meath coco as they are effectively now losing this money to Irish Water.

what is this all about?

MW2015

I am currently building a house in Co Meath and I am being charged 5,500 to connect to the water mains located at my gate. On top of contribution fees of 9000 already paid to Meath County Council

Vego

sink your own well

paul71

Vego wrote: »

sink your own well

Far cheaper, you will need a septic tank too though.

Kilough

Get your own well drilled as stated above. Should definitely work out cheaper. I can recommend a good company, PM for details.

Colm R

Sinking your own well may work out cheaper now, but personally I would not do it.

I have sunk my own well as I had no other choice - but given the option, I would take a mains connection all day long.

First and main reason is maintenance costs - I know one day my pump will stop working and I will have to get it fixed - and I know that its going to be late Christmas eve when this happens - thats generally the luck I have with things like this :-)

Ongoing maintenance costs have to be factored in also - softenting treatment, servicing, and the electrical cost of running the system. If you have a mains connection, the part of the system you own is from the road to the house and its just a pipe and pretty much maintenance free for life if you do it right.

And if the system breaks down, and it will, its someones elses job to fix it. Take my Christmas eve example - it could break down for you and me on Christmas eve and we are both without water for the holiday - but on the 27th, all you have to do is make a phone call - I have to go and find someone to fix it.

The current attitude to water has spurred a lot of people in rural area that have a public connection to think about sinking a well. I have actually talked a few people out of it after going through the costs. Here are some examples:

Capital Costs: €3200 to sink well (for me - also note - the house I bought already had a water softener from an old poor well so I did not have to buy this - just got reconditioned). I also then got a grant from the council but you cannot get this as you have a public supply available.
Note: This is what it cost me - every site is different- they may have to go deeper and hence more expensive.

1. Pump - its hard to put an exact figure on it - the one I have is apparrently quite efficient but estimates I have been given for an average family put about €150 per year on electricity. (This includes the cost of running the softener and UV lamp)

2. Salt for my softener - €7.50 a month - about €90 a year.

3. Service of softener - €150 - I really need to figure out how to do this myself.

Total for me: €3590 (1 year)
Total per year after that: €390

Future capital costs: I'll have to get a new pump at some stage. No idea really what this will cost me but it ain't going to be cheap.

1. For your connection to mains: €5500

2. Ground Works: Hard to put a price on it as you will have other work ongoing that will include this.

3. Ongoing charges - I assume Irish Water charges will come back so you will have this. But even if they do come back, its a bill and easier to budget than the maintenance costs of my system.

4. Ongoing maintaince: Zero or as near to zero averaged out over your years living there.


If you really want to figure out the cost of water from your well, you would need to talk to neighbours who have a well as close to you as possible - everyones water is different.

Vego

Colm R wrote: »

Sinking your own well may work out cheaper now, but personally I would not do it.

I have sunk my own well as I had no other choice - but given the option, I would take a mains connection all day long.

First and main reason is maintenance costs - I know one day my pump will stop working and I will have to get it fixed - and I know that its going to be late Christmas eve when this happens - thats generally the luck I have with things like this :-)

Ongoing maintenance costs have to be factored in also - softenting treatment, servicing, and the electrical cost of running the system. If you have a mains connection, the part of the system you own is from the road to the house and its just a pipe and pretty much maintenance free for life if you do it right.

And if the system breaks down, and it will, its someones elses job to fix it. Take my Christmas eve example - it could break down for you and me on Christmas eve and we are both without water for the holiday - but on the 27th, all you have to do is make a phone call - I have to go and find someone to fix it.

The current attitude to water has spurred a lot of people in rural area that have a public connection to think about sinking a well. I have actually talked a few people out of it after going through the costs. Here are some examples:

Capital Costs: €3200 to sink well (for me - also note - the house I bought already had a water softener from an old poor well so I did not have to buy this - just got reconditioned). I also then got a grant from the council but you cannot get this as you have a public supply available.
Note: This is what it cost me - every site is different- they may have to go deeper and hence more expensive.

1. Pump - its hard to put an exact figure on it - the one I have is apparrently quite efficient but estimates I have been given for an average family put about €150 per year on electricity. (This includes the cost of running the softener and UV lamp)

2. Salt for my softener - €7.50 a month - about €90 a year.

3. Service of softener - €150 - I really need to figure out how to do this myself.

Total for me: €3590 (1 year)
Total per year after that: €390

Future capital costs: I'll have to get a new pump at some stage. No idea really what this will cost me but it ain't going to be cheap.

1. For your connection to mains: €5500

2. Ground Works: Hard to put a price on it as you will have other work ongoing that will include this.

3. Ongoing charges - I assume Irish Water charges will come back so you will have this. But even if they do come back, its a bill and easier to budget than the maintenance costs of my system.

4. Ongoing maintaince: Zero or as near to zero averaged out over your years living there.


If you really want to figure out the cost of water from your well, you would need to talk to neighbours who have a well as close to you as possible - everyones water is different.

Water softener has nothing to do with a well ....you can have a water softener system with mains water, servicing of a water softener is debatable once every 5 years would be enough unless you notice a build up of lime or salty taste in the water, you can buy a ph kit to test the water every year from the tap yourself.

If you can sink your own well mains water can be just as easily cut off on christmas eve as well water

*also dont know if its been suspended but a 100 euro well maintenance grant was been given out by irish water every year