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Newspaper Articles: Environment
Cleaning a way to cleaner water supplies, published in the
Irish Examiner, 10th April 2007
The area outlined in red on the map issued by
Galway County Council stretches from Oranmore in the south to Tuam in the north.
It reaches from Moycullen in the West to Athenry in the East. It shows the parts
of Galway City and County affected by Cryptosporidiosis. This disease is caused
by a parasite (Cryptosporidium) found in humans, animals, birds and fish. It
multiplies in the intestine of the host and is excreted in very large numbers in
the faeces. The parasite can cause a diarrhoeal illness in humans known as
cryptosporidiosis. Most people with a healthy immune system will recover by
themselves. However, people with weakened immune systems are at greater risk of
a more severe illness. There is no drug available at present to cure this
infection. At the time of writing there are 169 confirmed cases of people
diagnosed with the disease in Galway.
A blame game is currently being played out by politicians both locally and
nationally. It would be easy to jump to conclusions about the source of the
outbreak, but there many factors that may have contributed to the source of the
contamination. According to the Carra Mask Corrib Water Protection Group,
agriculture, sewage and forestry can impact on water quality. The spreading of
slurry on soil that is unable to absorb the extra load can result in slurry
contaminating the local water system and cause enrichment and pollution. The EU
Nitrates Directive is helping to control agricultural pollution, but is being
implemented in Ireland very late in the day. Inadequate sewage systems in our
towns and poorly maintained domestic septic tanks can contribute to the
contamination of lakes and streams. Intensive forestry that relies on large
amounts of fertilizer and chemicals can rapidly contaminate water bodies and
contribute to alga blooms.
In some respects Galway has become a victim of its own success. Rapid population
growth in the city and in towns and villages within commuting distance has
placed huge pressure on creaking infrastructure. The sewage treatment plant
serving the town of Oughterard came under scrutiny as tests revealed high levels
of cryptosporidium downstream from the outfall pipe. Galway City's water
treatment plants struggle to treat water that may have been contaminated with
the parasite. Hindsight is wonderful, but as a rule of thumb, sewage plants
should not be placed upstream from water treatment plants. Compounding the
difficulties in Galway is the absence of adequate facilities to analyse water
samples in Ireland . Galway's water had to be sent to a lab in Wales for
analysis.
Galway's problems are not unique. Many towns and villages around the country are
playing catch-up with their aging water treatment and sewage plants. An
unprecedented building boom is placing huge pressure on infrastructure all
around Ireland. Ennis in Co. Clare has had a precautionary 'boil water' notice
in operation for the last two years. A local Councillor, Brian Meany brought
samples of water from Clare to the doors of Dáil Éireann to see if TDs would
like a taste, but all declined. In Wicklow people living in Arklow and
Blessington have to get their water from emergency water tankers when
contamination levels are exceeded.
Meanwhile a piece of legislation containing some of the solution to the problem
has been gathering dust in Dáil Éireann's Committee rooms for several years. The
2003 Water Service Bill would provide a proper framework for the licensing,
management and upgrading of Ireland 's water supplies. The Bill allows for
practical measures such as the fencing off of reservoirs from farm animals so
that they cannot contaminate the waters. It provides for a licensing system so
that Group Water Schemes are checked for compliance with standards on a regular
basis. Without this legislation in place Local Authorities are forced to operate
under antiquated legislation such as the 1847 Water Works Act. This makes it
more difficult for Galway City and Council to modernise their water supplies.
In addition we need a regular inspection system for domestic septic tanks. In
some cases local authority planners state that tanks must be maintained. However
there is no general obligation for such systems to be inspected once they are
installed. Ground water contamination from septic tanks is a time-bomb waiting
to explode. Another cloud on the horizon is the issue of climate change. Summer
droughts on the east coast and more downpours in the west will place further
pressure on infrastructure that is already under pressure from population
growth.
Proper planning is required to address the difficulties being experienced around
the country. It is unsustainable to allow settlements to double or treble in
population without ensuring that basic improvements in water supply and sewage
treatment are provided. The current political stand-off between Galway City
Council and the Minister for the Environment suggests that the needs of the
people of Galway were lost in bureaucratic wrangling between local and national
government. Without adequate funding of their own, city and county councils must
constantly go 'cap in hand' to central government to seek the funds they so
urgently require. Giving local authorities more financial autonomy might allow
them to cut through the red tape and provide clean water sooner, rather than
later. Over to you Minister Roche!
Ciarán Cuffe TD is a TD for Dún Laoghaire and the Green Party's
Environment Spokesperson | 
CiaranCuffe.com