Council faces trial over public water supply contamination

THE management of the Ennis public water supply is to come under the spotlight in a court later this year.

The Director of Public Prosecutions is expected to bring nine charges against Clare County Council relating to allowing water untreated for cryptosporidium into the town’s public water system over a five-month period in 2008 and 2009.

The council is accused of failing to comply with a directive from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it cease the bypassing of its membrane filtration plant at its Drumcliffe Water Treatment Plant as soon as possible and no later than May 1, 2008. The new charges come 15 months after the DPP directed the striking out of a previous prosecution initially brought by the EPA.

The cases are being brought under EU Drinking Water legislation where an accused, if found guilty of the charges in the circuit court, faces a maximum fine of €500,000 on each of nine counts.

The charges are likely to be heard at Ennis Circuit Court.

The council is accused of failing to comply with the EPA directive on nine separate time frames between May 1, 2008, and February 28, 2009.

The temporary membrane filtration plant was put in place to filter the water for the water bug following an outbreak of cryptosporidium in the town’s water supply in 2005.

At that time, no water was filtered going into the public water supply for cryptosporidium and instead, it was treated by chlorination.

The council put in place a temporary plant to filter the water for bugs, but it was not adequate and between January and March 2008 there were a number of incidents when cryptosporidium was allowed into the public water supply.

As a result, on March 31, 2008, the EPA issued a directive to the council that all water going into the Ennis public water supply be filtered for cryptosporidium by May 1 that year.

The council complied with the directive by May 16. However, there was very heavy rainfall in June of that year and the filters for cryptosporidium at the water plant became clogged and only 60% of the water supply for Ennis was getting through.

As a result, parts of Ennis were receiving no water and there were concerns over the supply of water for the local fire service and other essential services.

At the time, the Health Service Executive said that it was preferable to have a supply where the water was contaminated and people could flush their toilets rather than an inadequate supply.

A new €10 million permanent plant is now in place and there have been no outbreaks of cryptosporidium since.

The case is to appear before the court at Ennis District Court on March 25 for the preparation of the book of evidence.

When the book of evidence is complete and served on the council, the case will go forward to the circuit court.