Ennis water supply a ‘complete and utter mess’

TANKERS of water had to be brought to Ennis from the Limerick city and Shannon/Sixmilebridge supply for the second weekend in-a-row, due to failures of the new €9.8 million Ennis Water Treatment Plant.
Senior executive engineer with the water services department of Clare County Council, Sean Ward said the problem between last Friday afternoon and Sunday morning was exactly the same as the previous weekend.
“There were problems with the Ennis water supply from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning. The problems were similar to the previous weekend’s issues. Essentially, the treatment plant was not providing enough water to meet demand. The issue arises when incoming water from the Drumcliffe Spring has high levels of organic raw material. This happens in times of high rainfall, after a long dry period,” Mr Ward explained.
He added that since the weekend, the council has been in active negotiations with the operators of the Ennis Water Treatment Plant, EPS Bowen Ltd and they have provided extra equipment at the plant to reduce the load of the filters.
Mr Ward confirmed that Ennis water consumers were not left without water at any stage during these problems.
“We do understand, however, that people are frustrated over this and we are frustrated ourselves. We are still in discussion with the operators and the situation is being constantly monitored. We cannot give an absolute guarantee that it will not happen again but we are hopeful that the extra equipment added at the plant this week will help,” he commented.
Some householders noticed that there was drop in water pressure over the weekend, particularly after flushing toilets or using showers.
Last week, Mr Ward admitted the biggest problem in the Ennis water supply is that a high percentage of the water produced by the treatment plant leaks away before it reaches consumers.
Mayor of Ennis, Tommy Brennan said that he is confident in the manner that Mr Ward and his team in the council are dealing with the issue.
“I’ve no doubt that this issue will be resolved. I don’t think it calls into question the ability of the new treatment plant to serve Ennis’ water needs,” he added.
However, Deputy Joe Carey, who last week called for a plan B water source for Ennis and its environs, has described the situation as “a complete and utter mess”.
“It’s unacceptable that a new supposed state-of-the-art plant, which cost almost €10m, is not capable of meeting the requirements of an adequate supply of water for Ennis and its environs,” he commented.
The Fine Gael deputy said questions need to be asked about why this happened and particularly why it happened twice in such a short time frame.
“Also, we need to know what actions the council is taking to ensure this won’t happen going forward. The whole issue needs to be looked at properly, rather than trying to offer short-term solutions to this,” he added.
He said Ennis and its environs can no longer depend on a single water source and therefore, the full Ennis Water Augmentation Scheme needs to be delivered as a priority.
Deputy Carey further explained that one of the big problems with the Ennis water supply is that the source of water is the Drumcliffe Spring. “A spring is susceptible to weather alterations and is particularly impacted by extremes of raw material in the water. We have been assured that the water that goes through the treatment plant is up to scratch and I accept that. But the point I’m making is that a spring source is not dependable. We shouldn’t have all of our eggs in the one basket. Plans are in train to augment the current system and this needs to be completed in full,” he said.
The full Ennis Water Augmentation Scheme would involve improving the extraction capability of Castle Lake to enable more water to be taken out, the building of a new reservoir at Edenvale, a new pumping station at Clareabbey and all associated pipeworks.
“They are the outstanding elements of the augmentation scheme and they must be prioritised. The council and the department are looking at it as a long-term measure but in the short-term they are going to put off the new reservoir and the upgraded extraction facility and will just link in the new pipes to the existing supply. I think that’s a mistake. It’s a sham because the other parts are necessary to make it work efficiently,” Deputy Carey remarked.
He added that he raised this in the Dáil with Minister John Gormley many times and will continue to raise it until the full scheme is underway.
“The last two weekends emphasise the need for it. We cannot have this problem happening repeatedly,” he said.