This article is from page 12 of the 2006-10-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
THE break down in the Ennis town water supply, which led to the discovery of ecoli and colifrom bacteria in tap water tests last week, could happen in any water supply and there are no guarantees it will not happen again.
That’s according to Ennis Town Engineer Tom Tiernan, who said that giving a guarantee that a similar problem would not happen again was like guaranteeing that the town would not flood.
“We cannot predict the future but we are confident we are moving in the right direction,” he said.
The €2 million interim temporary filtration system installed during the summer was turned off when power returned to the system after an outage in the Drumcliff area.
The council was forced to revert to the old system, which was the subject of ongoing boil notices when cryptosporidium was discovered in the supply.
Mr Tiernan said the interim system has been up and running for the past few months and running well.
“As with any new plant there are teething problems. It takes a while to fine tune any new plant. When it is put in place quickly it does not help.”
He said, “practically all of the problem had passed through the system when the notice was called.”
The water was further analysed and tested during the weekend and all results returned have been clear for any harmful bacteria.
“The boil notice remains in place however as protocol dictates that a number of consecutive clear analyses must be returned before it is removed.
The HSE and the two local authorities will work together to decide when it is safe to drink the water without boiling again.
Consumers of the Ennis Public Water Supply should also boil the water for drinks made with water (including Baby Feeds), food preparation, brushing of teeth and making ice.
They are advised that water filters should not be used as substitute for boiling.