News
Good news for 8,500 customers as boil water notice lifted at last
Eight months after it was declared unsafe, the public water supply in Loughrea has been given the all-clear.
While the 8,500 customers in Loughrea and hinterland will be breathing a sigh of relief, there is no good news for the residents of Carraroe and Kilconnell which still remain on a boil water notice.
Irish Water said it had invested over €300,000 at the two treatment plants in Loughrea to ensure a safe and reliable supply of drinking water in the town and hinterland.
The boil water notice was issued on February 2 after the potentially dangerous bug cryptosporidium was discovered in tests. The estimated period of time to solve the problem was initially put at two months. Irish Water executive Ger Greally said the Loughrea water treatment plants now provide a robust barrier to microbiological and other contaminants.
“Irish Water is delighted that this boil water notice has been lifted within a relatively short timeframe considering the scope of works involved,” he stated.
“Both Loughrea water treatment plants will now provide year-round protection against the range of contaminants found in the raw water. New UV systems were installed at the two plants along with significant filter optimisation works, extensive flushing of the mains and cleaning of all four reservoirs associated with this scheme.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said its auditors were satisfied with the upgrade works carried out to improve the safety and security of Loughrea public water scheme.
The agency stated that filter management at both Loughrea plants had been significantly improved and added that the new UV disinfection systems meet the criterial for UV disinfection under the EPA Drinking Water Advice.
“Secondary disinfection by chlorination provides residual disinfection in the distribution network. All reservoirs have been cleaned and intensive network flushing has been carried out,” the report stated.
A boil notice was put in place in Kilconnell in November 2015 and in Carraroe last March.
“Irish Water is investigating a number of options to find a short term solution for the Kilconnell water supply. Once a resolution is agreed Irish Water will issue a detailed update,” according to a spokesperson.
“In relation to Carraroe, the works at the treatment plant are complete and a period of process proving is underway. We expect to issue an update in the next couple of weeks.” That work has cost in the region of €1m.
At its height in the last year there were 11,213 Galway residents on full or partial boil water notices or experiencing a water restriction due to contamination in the public water supply – it hit Ballinasloe in December 2015, Loughrea and Lettermore were both announced the following February, while Carraroe’s supply was declared off limits in March and Ahascragh was next to make the list in April.
Williamstown had a boil water notice in place since October 2014 which was only lifted last May. Irish Water is currently putting in place a long term solution to the issues in Williamstown consisting of an extension of the Lough Mask pipe line from Ballyhaunis. This is programmed for completion at the end of 2017.
A boil water notice imposed on the Leenane Public Water Supply in July 2015 was lifted last month after an investment of almost €1 million at the local treatment plant which supplies over 200 customers.
Customers on the Loughrea Regional Water Supply – including the Craughwell area and the following group water schemes – Earlspark, Masonbrook, Newtowndaly, Loughrea Rural, Killeenadeema, Carrowmore/Clostoken & Caherlaven, Caherdine, Carrigean – can now resume the normal use of tap water for drinking, food preparation, making ice and brushing teeth.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
