€10m water quality plan

A €10 MILLION programme to improve drinking water quality in Kerry should be completed by the end of next year, Kerry County Council’s director of water services, Oliver Ring, has announced.

Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) highlighted a situation whereby thousands of Kerry people were at risk from substandard drinking water.

Upwards of 55,000 consumers in the Killarney and Tralee areas were at risk because of inadequate treatment for cryptosporidium at the Lough Guitane source, outside Killarney, according to the EPA report.

The EPA called for serious quality issues to be addressed and warned there were very few mechanisms in Kerry to deal with a cryptosporidium outbreak, which led to serious difficulties in Galway last year.

More than 20 schemes with inadequate treatment for cryptosporidium were named by the EPA.

Thirty-nine schemes in Kerry have been put on a list for remedial action.

With €10m available to upgrade schemes, Mr Ring said there was a great opportunity to deal with many shortcomings in water treatment infrastructure.

He said there had never been a cryptosporidium outbreak in Kerry.

He also said the council was working with the EPA to improve water quality.

A special team has been set up to complete the latest works programme which Mr Ring described as “very challenging” and would involve work to schemes scattered around the county.

Pollution from domestic septic tanks and agricultural sources has been blamed for the contamination of rural water schemes.

South Kerry Independent Alliance councillor, Michael Gleeson, said: “There’s an enormous obligation on us to take corrective action, where necessary.”

Mr Gleeson, who said many septic tanks had been poorly constructed in the past, called for regular spot checks of the tanks to ensure compliance with standards.