Boil-water notice soon to be lifted?

THE boil-water notice which was introduced in Gort last March is expected to be lifted in the coming days. The precautionary notice was implemented while upgrading works were taking place on the Gort Water Treatment Plant.
Galway County Council expected this would take approximately three months to complete but six months behind schedule, a senior council official has said he believes the notice will be lifted in the coming weeks, perhaps even sooner.
“It is still ongoing but I think we are nearing the end. We have the upgrading works in Gort done and we are now supplying clean, safe, potable water to the consumers in the area. The water quality is much better than it was. The water is much cleaner. We are currently having it tested through the network by the HSE, once they get three clear samples, we would hope to be in a position to lift the notice. We don’t know what the situation is until we get the results back on those samples, then we will make a decision on the boil-water notice. We are moving, hopefully, in the right direction,” said Liam Gavin, senior engineer, Water Services, Galway County Council. “If all three of the tests are clear, we could be lifting the notice very soon,” Mr Gavin continued.
Mr Gavin attributed the delay in getting the work finished and lifting the notice to hold-ups in the testing and commissioning of the system which he said “took much longer” than anticipated “and we had to wait until the contractors got that right. Now that has been done and we are getting good, clear water. The work got finished on time but the testing and commissioning took a little longer. Because we are now adding chemicals to the water and because we have to get the chemical process right and the filtration right, that takes time and that is what is involved in the testing and commissioning,” he said.
“We didn’t ask the HSE to sample the water until last week because we wanted to have our works complete and our testing and commissioning right,” Mr Gavin commented, adding, “We had to do extra work including putting in new pumps at the intake and we put in a new rising main. There are better pumps and a better rising main so that gives greater certainty to the water supply.”
Despite the works taking place for three-times the length of time expected, the cost of the works to the council has remained the same.
“The cost has stayed the same because it is a fixed contract. The matter of getting it right was down to the contractor so that didn’t add anything to the cost,” Mr Gavin stated.
“The lifting of the notice will be great for the people in Gort as at last we are getting improved water quality. We have also replaced water mains on the network, one on the Ennis Road, one on the Corofin Road and one on the Galway road and they will help to reduce leakage and improve the supply and pressures in and around the town,” Mr Gavin concluded.
Although hopes are high that the boil notice will be lifted in the coming days, users are advised to continue to boil the water for drinking, food preparation, brushing teeth and making ice.