Water boil notice lifted in Whitegate

Clare County Council has lifted the boil notice on the Whitegate public water supply and associated group schemes following consultation with the Health Service Executive.
The boil notice was officially lifted last Friday having been issued on October 27 last on the advice of the HSE due to the detection of cryptosporidium in the water supply serving Whitegate and the group schemes at Drumaan East, Ballinrooan, The Mill and Williamstown.
Following consultation with the HSE late last week, the council has now removed the boil water notice and those served by the former Whitegate public supply can now resume normal use of the water for drinking, food preparation and brushing teeth.
Clare County Council also advises consumers who were on the Whitegate public water supply network, including the aforementioned group schemes, that they are now served by the Mountshannon public water supply.
The issue with the supply was rectified by connecting the previous Whitegate network to the adjacent Mountshannon water supply and the result is such that the Whitegate area can now avail of a more reliable source and increased storage capacity on that network.
The local authority acknowledged that the Whitegate source is vulnerable due to its location and topography and Killaloe area engineer Hugh McGrath explained that “the recent upgrading of pumps and yield testing of the Mountshannon source have resulted in a remedy whereby the two schemes interconnection can be a made a permanent fixture”.
“This also now means that the 900 cubic metre storage reservoir at Mounshannon can benefit the two catchments for the purposes of emergency supply due to weather related issues etc as well as for fire fighting purposes. The existing storage tower in Whitegate, although less than a fifth of the size of the Mountshannon reservoir, will also remain in service in conjunction with booster pumps if required”.
When the issue was identified he said the council had been able to supply Whitegate from the Mountshannon source with limited difficulty. However, due to operational tests and as a result of flushing of the Whitegate, mains water and as a precaution to ensure all cryptosporidium is clear of the service mains in Whitegate, the boil notice remained in place until last Friday.
The Local Authority/Health Service Executive Water Liaison Group have said they will continue to meet and review ongoing process control, monitoring and testing of the drinking water supply.