FINGAL COUNTY COUNCIL – EMERGENCY WEATHER UPDATE 10pm Thursday 7th January
– 500km of roads will be salted and gritted on Friday morning
– All National primary and some secondary roads will be treated
– Roads conditions still extremely hazardous
– Water supplies critical
Fingal County Council is strongly advising that while freezing and dangerous weather continues, motorists should avoid all unnecessary journeys as road conditions are treacherous across Dublin City and County. Pedestrians and cyclists should avoid all journeys and take extreme care if they must go out in current conditions. All members of the public should pay particular attention to safety messages and weather forecasts from the Gardai, Road Safety Authority, the AA and Met Éireann.
Fingal County Council will again mobilise all crews and gritting machinery to spread salt and grit on 500km of roadway including all primary and some secondary routes in the County from 5am on Friday 8th January. Primary roads including motorways will be treated with high grade salt. Some secondary roads will also be treated using a sharp sand with low salt content. This low grade material is less effective than salt in dealing with ice therefore secondary roads should not be considered safe for normal driving.
Met Éireann has advised that these freezing weather conditions will continue into next week. Continuation of gritting and salting schedules in the coming days will be assessed and revised on a daily basis, based on the availability of salt and grit supplies which have been in huge demand across Ireland and the UK in recent weeks. Unfortunately beach sand and coarse grit and gravel can damage high grade road surfaces and block drainage gullys and these materials are unsuitable for treating icy roads.
WATER SUPPLIES CRITICAL: Residents across Fingal are also asked NOT TO LEAVE TAPS running in an effort to conserve water supplies through this period. Water supply may have to be restricted to allow depleted reservoirs to recharge.
Although the impact on Council resources from dealing with this severe weather is significant and sustained over a long period the availability of Fingal County Council staff or funding to provide a response to this emergency is not an issue.
For further information check road conditions at www.aaroadwatch.ie
Check the Weather Forecast at www.meteireann.ie
Tune into DublinCityFM 103.2FM for LIVE traffic reports
For press and media queries please contact:
Florence White, Communications Officer
Tel: 01-890 5998 Mobile: 087 414 1580
ADDITIONAL NOTE:
Freezing weather has also lead to a disruption in some other Fingal County Council Services.
REFUSE COLLECTION SERVICE
Fingal County Council waste collection customers may not have a black or brown bin collection over the coming days due to severe weather conditions making some roads inaccessible for bin trucks. Further information is available on www.fingalcoco.ie.
GREEN BINS
Green bin collections may also be disrupted. Greyhound recycling are providing ongoing weather updates on all Green Bin collections on www.greenbin.ie
GARRISTOWN & BALLYCOOLEN RESERVOIRS
Water supplies in Ballycoolen & Garristown Reservoirs are extremely low as a result of increased demand on the water supply network during the current cold spell of weather. Consumers MUST NOT leave taps running during this current cold spell. Supplies may have to be restricted at night to allow reservoirs to recharge.
FINGAL COUNTY COUNCIL LIBRARIES
Garristown Library is closed and Fingal Mobile library service is suspended until further notice due to severe weather conditions. Please call 01-8905528 for further information.