Inaction ‘not an option’

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Rural Water News Spring 2008 CLÁR NFGWS Chairperson, Brendan O’Mahony presented a copy of the Federation Annual Report for 2007 to Minister Killeen, following the announcement of the Rural Water Programme allocations for 2008. National spotlight on H2O sales technique A company that uses pressure sales techniques to sell expensive, unnecessary and potentially dangerous undersink treatment systems to householders recently found itself the subject of national media scrutiny. The popular Liveline radio programme on RTE Radio 1 broadcast caller after caller who had experienced the sales techniques of the H2O company ... but were far from impressed! Many callers focused on the role that the ‘Precipitator’ plays as part of the sales pitch by company representatives. As reported previously in Rural Water News, this piece of equipment is described as a ‘useful sales tool’ because total dissolved solids (TDS) in water will conduct an electric charge so that peferctly healthy water turns a unsightly brownish colour. One woman complained that after testing her water in this way, the salesperson suggested that the TDS was very high, but her own research revealed that the levels were less than half those recommended in the EU standard. Spokesperson A company spokesperson came on air, desperately trying to undo some of the damage, but he was unable to counter specific allegations against the company’s pressurised and scaremongering sales techniques. The need to beware of such companies is highlighted in a newsletter being distributed by Monaghan GWS Federation to every group scheme household in the county. funding update Speaking in Castletownbere, County Cork, on 25 January 2008, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuív predicted accelerated take-up in 2008 of a CLÁR programme that ensures that no family has to pay more than €1,300 for a quality water supply. Stating that more than 10,000 people have benefited from the programme since its introduction in 2002, he added: “There are still large parts of rural Ireland that are dependent on wells and other private sources for their water supply. These are of variable quality and often run dry during the drought periods of the summer. This causes major inconvenience to families as well as being a potential health hazard.” ‘For years, it was argued that it would be too expensive to provide the people in the more isolated parts of rural Ireland with water connections to public or top quality group water schemes. I am delighted that the CLÁR programme has proved that this is not so. ‘This scheme is accelerating as people become aware of it and get organised. It is estimated that it takes up to a year and a half from the time of a group coming together to the time that a group water scheme is ready for approval. It is known that there are now a large number of other schemes in the pipeline and it would be expected that the approvals in 2008 will exceed the approvals in 2007 showing that there are still large parts of the country that lack the provision of water. *** A total of 119 County Galway households are to benefit from top-up funding of €642,030 towards the cost of connecting them to Gortanumera GWS. This contract is valued at more than €1.5 million, the balance coming from the DoEHLG. Each householder is saving €5,395 thanks to CLÁR support! *** Savings of €2,352 will accrue to each of 24 householders connecting to Lougher GWS in County Kerry. €56,440 has been provided as top-up funding by CLÁR. The balance of the €239,282 required is coming from the DoEHLG. *** Just over €200,000 top-up funding will help connect 21 Mayo householders to Comminch GWS at an affordable cost. These householders are each saving €9,948 on the €368,899 contract. *** In County Limerick, 19 households are connecting to Ballynamuddagh GWS with top-up CLÁR funding of €73,429. Here the saving total nearly €4,000 per household. *** Smaller top-up grant aid is set to assist eight householders in Donegal and three in Clare to secure a quality water supply at an affordable cost. The Donegal homes will connect to Drim GWS, while those in Clare will link into Cloncoul GWS. *** Cúil Aodha GWS in Co. Cork has secured a CLÁR development grant of €6,000, towards an upgrade programme that will cost €117,750 in total. 14
Rural Water News Spring 2008 Water Quality Report 2006-7 A new departure for environmental watchdog The recent release of the EPA’s Water Quality Report signalled a decisive break with the past, as the emphasis shifted from reporting non-compliance to the identification and management of all risks associated with drinking water supplies. Equipped with new enforcement powers under the Drinking Water Regulations (SI278/‘07), the EPA has wasted no time in making local authorities aware of what this will mean in terms of assessing their performance. Snapshot In a press release accompanying publication of the Water Quality report on 24 January, the environmental watchdog makes clear that ‘sampling of drinking water tap provides only a snapshot of the quality of the water supply and cannot be relied on as the sole indicator of a safe and secure drinking water supply’. Ger O’Leary, Programme Manager, EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement, goes on to argue that this approach must give way to ‘a wider range of control and management criteria than has previously been the case’. He added: ‘There are two requirements in providing clean and wholesome drinking water; firstly, the water supplier needs to ensure that water is safe to drink and secondly, the water supplier needs to ensure that the water supply is secure. ‘To provide for a safe and secure drinking water supply, the EPA is now requiring that all risks associated with a water supply be identified, monitored and managed.’ Health Impact Setting out the priorities for 2008, Dara Lynott, Director, EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement, said: ‘The enforcement of the Drinking Water Regulations by the EPA will be risk-based and outcome-driven. The principal risks to drinking water are those that have a health impact, particularly contamination of supplies associated with E. coli and Cryptosporidium. ‘The highest number of notifications received by the EPA in 2007 related to contamination of supplies with E. coli. This situation is unacceptable’, he concluded. Supervisory Authority Because of the EPA’s new role as the supervisory authority for public water supplies, there was less focus than usual on the GWS sector. Nonetheless, the results of monitoring during 2006 showed that considerable improvement is required. In all, based on analysis of 22,000 tests in both public and private schemes, the report found that: • E. coli was detected at least once in 77 out of 944 public water supplies. This indicates intermittent contamination of over 8 per cent of public water supplies; • E. coli was detected in almost 36 per cent of private group water schemes. This means that 246 out of 688 schemes monitored were contaminated at least once during 2006; • Compliance with the required chemical standards was satisfactory for all supplies (99.3 per cent); McCumiskey House, headquarters of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement. Cryptosporidium The lessons learned from last year’s Cryptosporidium outbreak in Galway are emphasised in the report, in particular the danger of relying solely on sampling at the tap. The Galway supply was sampled more than 500 times in 2006, with over 99 per cent of samples compliant. However, what these samples failed to show was the underlying identification of the supply as ‘very high risk’ in relation to Cryptosporidium’. As Ger O’Leary points out: ‘The Cryptosporidium contamination of the Galway City water supply shows that sampling at the tap, on its own, does not guarantee the safety of the drinking water supply if the security of the supply has not been dealt with. ‘Compliance with the 48 drinking water standards has to be taken as the minimum requirement to be achieved, not something to be aspired to over a number of years.’ Enforcement Action Since the introduction of new Drinking Water Regulations in 2007 the EPA has identified over 300 public water supplies for further enforcement action following: • risk assessments undertaken by local authorities • a review of over three years drinking water data • audits of water treatment plants • consultations with the Health Services Executive • liaison with the DoEHLG. The EPA points out that these actions will require the replacement of some supplies, a significant capital investment in other supplies and/or significant changes in operational practices. 15
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Inaction ‘not an option’

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