Nervous constituency fears water pollution

NERVOUS candidates in the Wicklow constituency had neither the comfort of hot sweet tea nor spending a penny yesterday after a contamination scare cut the water supply.

The emergency — ironically in the home constituency of Environment Minister Dick Roche — threatened to force the suspension or relocation of the count.

Several thousand count staff and tallymen at the centre in Arklow were left without facilities after officials took the decision to cut the supply to the entire town when an overnight break-in at the main Lamberton waterworks was discovered early yesterday morning.

Town Clerk Des Nichols said hacksaws had been used to cut through padlocks securing the facility and there was evidence that the intruders had made their way to the main tank where a plastic bottle was found floating.

“At this stage we are unsure as to whether there was any contamination to the water. We don’t know if anybody has put anything into it or not,” he said.

“Chlorine levels have reduced which would indicate there was some impurity in the water so the town council together with the county council and the Health Service Executive are arranging tests of the water to establish whether or not there is any pollution. As a precaution the water has been turned off.”

Mr Nichols said tests for natural pollutants, such as E-coli, could be completed within a day but tests for possible chemical contamination would take longer.

Gardaí are investigating the break-in, the reason for which was a mystery to town hall officials. “We don’t know whether somebody got in looking for equipment or whether it was sabotage or just vandalism,” Mr Nichols said.

Engineers were exploring the possibility of bypassing the waterworks and delivering supplies directly from a nearby reservoir as an alternative to the logistical nightmare of finding sufficient water tankers for the whole town.

Water was restored for use in toilets by late afternoon, however, and the count continued unabated on the promise of containers of clean drinking water being brought in during the evening.

One unsuccessful but undaunted candidate even sent his campaign car back out onto the streets, retracing the canvass route to broadcast loudhailer messages to the public informing them of the problem.