This article is from page 36 of the 2007-06-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 36 JPG
that the latest test taken from the drink- ing water supplied to the west Clare village and surrounding areas came back clear, but the local authority will not be removing the warnings until the next test shows a similar KeUO Le The “Miltown Malbay Public Wa- ter Supply” taken from Rockmount Treatment Works was found to have
aluminium levels above those rec- ommended.
Users were experiencing a strong taste from the water when the alert was issued.
According to the council and the local Health Service Executive in the short term there is no “evidence of increased ill-health due to drinking water containing levels of alumin- ium which are higher than recom- mended”’.
However, people with poor kid- ney or renal function are advised to source alternative drinking water until advised that the aluminium lev- els have reduced.
This includes water used in the preparation of hot beverages and soft Clann ecp
A spokesperson for the council ex- plained that boiling the water has no effect on aluminium, and is effective only if bacteria were found in a water supply.
Aluminium is added to the water at the treatment plant to clean the water, but more than is required was found in the water in the past weeks.
Clare County Council has since rectified the situation at the plant and altered the dosage of aluminium as required.
The local authority plans to carry
out another test on the affected water next week. The test will be sent for independent testing as well as being analysed in its own lab.
The council must then meet with the HSE before the water warning is lifted.
The notice also applies to the Bal- lard, Dunsallagh/Killeran, Glendine, Leagard South and Dough (Spanish Point) group water schemes.
Local County Councillor Christy Curtin said he was delighted that the water tests were beginning to prove positive. He said there was a lot of uncertainty about the water supply, but that was “being cleared up”.