Timlin rules out Ennis back-up supply

COLD water has been poured on suggestions that the Pouladower Spring, north of Ennis, be developed as “a back-up source” for the town’s water supply.
Director of services with Clare County Council, David Timlin said that the implementation of water conservation programmes, including a €6 million investment in main rehabilitation in the Ennis area, would “obviate the need for any heavy capital investments in developing any further new sources in the Ennis area, such as Pouladower”.
Mr Timlin revealed that the Ennis Water Supply Scheme upgrade, including new treatment facilities at Drumcliffe, was recently completed at a cost of €10m. To ensure that this investment is protected, and in accordance with national policy, the council is proceeding with a water conservation programme to reduce the amount of leakage taking place in the system, especially in older water mains and services.
“The recently announced Water Services Investment Programme lays great emphasis on sustainable solutions and making best use of existing resources. The programme includes a provision for €6m for mains rehabilitation in the Ennis area. The council will be proceeding with these works in the next two years.
“It is expected that the conservation programme, together with meter installations for all non-domestic customers, will result in significant savings in water consumption. In addition, to provide further flexibility and back-up, the Ennis Water Supply will shortly be fully inter-connected with the neighbouring Shannon Water Supply system, which has a similar capacity,” Mr Timlin outlined.
The tapping of Pouladower Spring as a back-up source has been suggested by engineer, Michael Duffy, supported by Ennis Town Councillor Johnny Flynn. The possibility of harnessing the Pouladower Spring for use as a public drinking water supply was also highlighted in the 1996 KT Cullen report.
Mr Duffy has argued that the Pouladower Spring has the potential to produce “more than treble the amount of water provided by the existing supply”.
He claimed that the quality of the raw water flowing into Pouladower would substantially improve if the Corofin Sewerage Treatment Plant was commissioned and in the region of €1.85m was secured from the Department of the Environment to upgrade Kilfenora and Ruan Sewerage Treatment Plants.
Mr Duffy also proposed that an application should be made for European Union funding to implement a new source protection plan for the Pouladower Spring, including measures to significantly reduce other possible pollution in the catchment area from agricultural and one-off housing. This could be addressed by a pilot project to upgrade on-site wastewater treatment systems in this area, he said.
His plan was supported by Councillor Johnny Flynn, who has campaigned for five key actions to be undertaken to improve the quality and quantity of drinking water in the county town and neighbouring communities.
Councillor Flynn estimated there are up to 40,000 people using water from the Drumcliffe source on a daily basis when householders and about 10,000 teachers and children in local schools are taken into account.
Councillor Flynn has called for a doubling of the capacity of the Ennis reservoir from 3.5 to seven million gallons, as he believes the current capacity is inadequate.
He suggested bylaws should be introduced to encourage the reduction of waste from the public water mains into residents’ homes, as well as a grants system to upgrade sceptic tanks and on-site wastewater treatment plants in the catchment area of the main water sources for the Ennis supply.
The Clare Champion has obtained a copy of a report on Groundwater Source Protection on the Pouladower and Drumcliffe Springs, which was produced by Jenny Deakin, Geological Survey of Ireland, with assistance from Donal Daly, Geological Survey of Ireland, as well as Catherine Coxon and David Drew, Trinity College, Dublin.
The report revealed that the Pouladower Spring could produce between 10,000 and 62,400 cubic metres daily, compared to a daily abstraction yield of between 12,000 cubic metres and a maximum of 20,000 cubic metres.
It concludes that the Drumcliffe Spring, which is considered both a groundwater and surface water source, is generally extremely vulnerable to contamination, as there is little protective subsoil cover throughout the catchment.
It warned that the groundwater and surface water systems throughout the catchment are inextricably linked, making the source difficult to protect.
“The overall quality, however, is relatively good. Hazard mapping should be carried out in the catchment to pinpoint potential trouble areas.
“If it is intended to harness Pouladower for use, it is strongly recommended that the immediate area around the source be purchased and fenced off to reduce the likelihood of surface contaminants getting into the springhead,” the report stated.