2006 proposal ‘wouldn’t have prevented water crisis’

GALWAY City Council has rejected claims that it could have prevented the outbreak of cryptosporidium contamination in the local water supply if it had used technology presented to it last year.

City manager Joe MacGrath, said yesterday that a proposal sent in by a Cork-based company, ENVA, was one of “a number of proposals” invited by the council to address ongoing concerns regarding the vulnerability of the old waterworks in Terryland. “However, this proposal alone was not sufficient to provide the level of protection against cryptosporidium as outlined by the EPA.”

Mr McGrath also expressed his satisfaction that current proposals agreed between the city council and the EPA would provide the required level of protection.

“This solution provides for the installation of an ultra filtration system, which is in addition to the treatment as suggested by ENVA.”

A short-term solution to alleviate the Galway water crisis is expected to be in place by mid-June, three months after the start of the cryptosporidium outbreak.

ENVA is one of several companies who have tendered for the Galway water upgrade and the city council stressed yesterday that it is “legally obliged” to go through a public procurement process before settling on any one solution.

Finbarr Pine of ENVA said yesterday that its proposal involved filtration and ultraviolet treatment which would eliminate the risk of microbiological contamination.

“The risk of cryptosporidium outbreaks has been there for quite a period of time,” Mr Pine said. The company had been in correspondence with Galway City Council since it submitted its final proposal last September and was waiting to hear back regarding a decision. “We have no axe to grind with a particular council’s rules and procedures. Our only interest is to say we have a solution that’s an approved solution for the treatment of cryptosporidium.”

The council said that it progressed “a number of initiatives” throughout last year in an attempt to deal with its “ongoing concern” about the vulnerability to a cryptosporidium outbreak of the old treatment plant at Terryland.

It also said that, since 1999, the monthly results for cryptosporidium indicated that at no time prior to the current outbreak did the results exceed the UK guideline value for the parasite.