River scheme at centre of water row

A WATER row erupted in Co Limerick yesterday after Limerick County Council opened a river-sourced supply in the Pallaskenry area replacing the existing lake-sourced scheme.

A local action group demanding the retention of a lake-sourced supply, accused the council of breaking an agreement not to pipe in a river supply from the River Deel until High Court proceedings had been finalised.

The Bleach Lough Retention Group held an emergency meeting in Pallaskenry on Sunday night.

Dan Foley, secretary of the group said: “The council have serious questions to answer. They have connected up this water from the polluted River Deel and people in Pallaskenry are now getting river water when they already had a pristine supply from Bleach Lough. This river supply is now going into part of the community. There are judicial review proceedings coming up and we got no notice they were going to breach into the existing lake supply last Friday.”

The action group prevented council workers connecting the River Deel supply into the village of Kildimo shortly before Christmas when diggers were moved in by the council late at night. Mr Foley said: “We have a lovely source of water and many people in places like Newcastle West and Askeaton who get their water from the Deel are getting bottled water to drink because of the poor quality of the supply.

“The supply from Bleach Lough is adequate to meet present and future needs of the area; all that is needed is for it to be upgraded.”

A spokesman for the council said there was no undertaking not to carry out the connection.

He said: “As early as last November the council served their (Bleach Lough Retention Group) solicitors of the council’s intention to connect the scheme.”

The council spokesman said the connection last Friday had brought a clean water supply to hundreds of homes which had been issued with intermittent boil notices in recent years.

He said: “Thousands of homes across West Limerick in towns including Newcastle West, Askeaton and Foynes are already connected to this source. The connection to wider areas last Friday has been widely welcomed.”

Donal Brennan, senior council engineer, said the connection will not only improve water pressure, but would also give the Pallaskenry area enough water for housing developments planned for the area.