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Limerick County Council has said that it had taken significant
steps in recent months to further improve the quality of drinking
water in local Public, Private and Group Water Schemes.
The council outlined that it was continuing to implement
a series of measures aimed at further improving and intensifying
the monitoring of local drinking water supplies - some of
which were included by the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) on a Remedial Action List for Public Drinking Water
Supplies (Click
Here).
The list includes twelve separate schemes across County Limerick,
which featured in an EPA report on drinking water quality
issued earlier this year (Click
Here). However, Limerick County Council has already
introduced corrective actions for the majority of schemes.
“Limerick County Council has forwarded specific ‘Actions’
items in respect of each item raised by the EPA to both the
agency itself and the Department of the Environment, Heritage
and Local Government - with many of these already in place”
- explained a spokesperson for the Council’s Transportation
and Water Services Directorate.
The spokesperson added - “Some of the issues raised by the
EPA relate to ‘one-off’ occurrences, which were not
indicative of any systematic problem with the water supply
or management of the schemes in question. Furthermore, Limerick
City Council’s introduction of a new water treatment plant
at Clareville has addressed drinking water quality issues
for 45% of the population served by the schemes on the Remedial
Action List.
“Limerick County Council is continuing its investment in
Water Services Infrastructure across county Limerick and has
made the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local
Government aware of its overall needs for funding in this
regard.”
Meanwhile, the Transportation and Water Services Directorate
has said that the introduction of a series of other corrective
measures had meant that it was delivering on its objective
of providing quality water supplies in a manner that safeguards
public health and underpins the sustainable development of
County Limerick.
The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
recently sanctioned the doubling of the number of staff engaged
in monitoring in the Council's Environment Laboratory. In
addition, sanction has been received for the recruitment of
four process technicians to assist with the operational side
of water production.
To supplement the improved levels of process control and
monitoring, Limerick County Council is also planning to install
new in-line monitors, which will give real-time indication
of problems occurring in treated water and will alert Council
staff to the need for early and timely intervention.
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