The refrain in Ballina, a village in north Tipperary, could well be "Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink". The picturesque village is on the River Shannon at the lower end of Lough Derg, a bridge separating it from the rival village of Killaloe in Co Clare. But residents are now grateful that the old village well is functioning and have made good use of it over the past three years when their taps run dry.
Because of rapid development, the mains from the treatment plant in Newport are inadequate. Kerstin Murray, a Swede who moved to the area with her Irish husband three years ago, experienced water shortages almost at once. "If the water is back, the pressure is often so low we do not get water while everyone else is using it. Frequently our tank only fills up during the night."
She has three children, aged three, five and seven, and finds the water pressure goes during the evening and at weekends when they are all at home.
A new semi-detached house in the area, which is 12 miles from Limerick, now costs £115,000 in a location offering "plenty for the water sports enthusiast", according to one advertisement.
House prices are inflated, says architect Liam Ryan, because of the curbs on development outside the village, pending a solution to the water shortages. "This poses a real danger of forcing the next generation of indigenous locals away from their own community," he says.
It is a vexing issue for developers, who cannot sign off on a house until it has running water and who now face curbs on further development in a period of economic buoyancy. "Builders are being held up by water shortages, which is crazy because it is the most sought-after region in Tipperary and yet there are no services," says Mike Lynch of Precision Builders.
Matt Shortt, an engineer with Tipperary North Riding County Council, says the problem has been compounded by loss of more than 60 per cent of water through leakages. To alleviate the problem in the short term, wells are being sunk and pumps are being installed by the local authority.
Consultants will be appointed next week to draw up tenders for a £2 million scheme for the Newport plant, which will include building three reservoirs over two years. In the meantime, the old well in Ballina will continue to make itself useful.