Council lifts Gort boil water notice

WATER users in Gort had good news this week when Galway County Council announced that the precautionary boil notice, which has been in place in the town for the past nine months, has been lifted.

On Friday, the precautionary boil water notice was removed resulting in full water treatment in the town. However, this relief was short lived as service users woke on Tuesday morning to find themselves with no water after “a malfunction in the treatment plant” overnight. Galway County Council said it hoped “the repairs will be completed and the supply of water restored” by Tuesday afternoon but failing that, that it would provide water tankers in the town.
The boil notice was implemented in March and had been due to be lifted by June. The HSE carried out tests on the water over the last two weeks and the council stated that any precautionary boil notice could only be lifted after three consecutive clean samples were taken. This was not possible until last week.
However, as the country faces more subzero temperatures, Galway County Council has now asked all water users in the county to reduce water use to the minimum. “The council will continue to monitor the situation closely and some night-time restrictions may be placed on supplies to conserve water and allow reservoir levels to build. Unnecessary and excessive water usage will give rise to water shortages. On the other hand, minimising water demand in the home, business and around the farm will help to prevent water outage,” said a spokesperson for the council.
The local authority is urging water users not to leave taps running or dripping, to check vacant properties for leaks or bursts and ensure that repairs are carried out where necessary. It is also asking that businesses, offices or schools that may be closed for the holiday period are checked. Land owners are being asked to check outhouses, field pipes and troughs and to repair leaks or burst pipes. Farmers are being reminded to shut off field connections if animals are indoors.