Council faces action over bug in public water

A BOOK of Evidence has been served on Clare County Council in relation to charges allowing water untreated for cryptosporidium into the Ennis public water system in 2008 and 2009.

The local authority, if found guilty, faces potential fines totalling €4.5 million.

At Ennis District Court, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) brought nine separate charges against the local authority.

The council is accused of failing to comply with a directive from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it cease bypassing the membrane filtration plant at its Drumcliffe Water Treatment Plant as soon as possible and no later than May 1, 2008, and that failure would be an offence.

The fresh prosecution, 18 months after the DPP directed a planned prosecution brought by the EPA against the council be struck out, is 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 the nine counts.

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.

A temporary membrane filtration plant was put in place to filter the water for the bug, cryptosporidium, following an outbreak in the 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 source of the Ennis water supply is the Drumcliffe springs, a shallow source where the bug can be washed off the lands into the supply during heavy rains.

The temporary filtration plant was not adequate and between January and March 2008, there were a number of incidents when cryptosporidium was allowed into the public water supply.

On March 31, 2008, the EPA issued a directive to Clare County Council that all water going into the Ennis public water supply be filtered for cryptosporidium by May 1, 2008.

The council complied with the directive by May 16. However, there was very heavy rainfall in June 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 for the fire service and essential services.

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

Judge Joseph Mangan adjourned the case to Ennis District Court this Friday.