Connections

Allanah it's been nearly 6 weeks since I asked and not only do I not have an answer, now my PMs are being ignored too.

Bad form.

Heads up to people seeking new connections and particularly self-builders

+1 this post if you feel the same

My experience is that the Irish Water guidance, documentation, and videos around the connection process are inaccurate, insufficient and ambiguous.

Reading the documentation will leave a customer with one vision of what will happen but the reality is entirely different.

So take a very simple scenario;
 - A new build house on a corner site of an existing housing estate;
 - With a water main already located in the footpath outside the new house;
 - You have completed works within and up to your boundary and have a pipe ready to connect to the mains located beside your boundary.
 - You paid your Irish Water fee which includes a "Works Fee" and an "Infrastructure Fee"

You may be under the impression (based on Irish Water guidance) that once you have completed the application process and paid your fee that Irish Water together with their agents will work to connect you to the water supply.

WRONG!!!

- You must now obtain a road opening licence!;
- Not so bad?  - You can't get one of these unless you have insurance in place and have completed 3 days of mandatory training;
- You probably already have the insurance given that you are building a house;
- Either way the training and licence will cost you €1,000 if you do it yourself;
- So you must now employ an insured contractor do dig a hole in the path for you €€€
- Irish water will then show up and plug in a meter in 10 minutes!! 

Value for money eh!

So how did I get it all so wrong???

Well......


Watch the Irish Water video, linked below, for a laugh..


https://www.water.ie/connections/information/

"We will design and make the connection" they say and look at the graphic that goes with it    

Confusing? Misleading?


Check out the "Connection Assets and Responsibilities" on page 9 of the "Guide to Connect"

https://www.water.ie/connections/new-connections/domestic/8-10.10.16-Guide-to-connect_Domestic-02_NT-changes.pdf

Check out the diagrams - customer responsible for everything up to 225mm outside your boundary it seems!? - That's not all!! (there's more )

Confusing? Misleading?


Check out Section 5 of Irish Water's "Guide to Connect"

5".1 Physical connection Having received the acceptance requirements and processed your payment, Irish Water will contact you to agree a mutually suitable time for the provision of the physical connection...." 


Not really true!!  


Yes, Irish water's service description and contract documentation is nothing short of misleading at best, 
and yes Mr/Mrs customer and tax payer, you will pick up an extra bill €€ for it, 
and you will pay your planning permission fees, 
and you will engage a private contractor to dig a hole in the road, 
and you will pay for a licence to dig that whole in the road, a
nd you will pay for Irish water to contract the Local Authority to come and have a look into that hole in the road 
and then if you are really lucky this good State of ours through its Semi-state bodies and agents might just well connect that little water pie to that big water pipe, 
and you will rejoice :)

Hi folks,

I want to get our house connected which is probably around 300m from the nearest mains connection but we need a ballpark figure first. It was always on a well and is probably nearly 100 years old. 

Trying to fill out the pre-connection enquiry form and you need a location map and a layout map and "invert level of connection supplies". Where does one get these maps you want and what is an "invert level of connection point" and how do I get that please

Hi,

Id like to try and get a water connection onto a site,  main purpose is to provide water for agriculture. There is mains connection on the road on which the site is located. Can you provide direction as to where I can apply for this, most of the application processes seem "domestic" related. Any advise appreciated.