This article is from page 4 of the 2007-11-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
THE promoters of a bottling plant for spring water discovered by Cllr PJ Kelly’s “water divining” powers will have to wait a while longer to reap the benefits.
This follows Clare County Coun- cil expressing of “serious concerns” about Clare Spring Water Ltd’s bore well to source the spring water sup- as
In seeking further information on the proposal, the council state that the location of the well may prejudice the future development of lands out- side the control of the developer and
that activity of the adjacent landhold- ing may impact on the water quality of the borehole.
The council states: “Please address these concerns and this should in- clude a revised site layout to indicate the location of the borehole relative to the landholding boundary.
“This should also include, if nec- essary, proposals to ensure that no inappropriate development is con- ducted on lands inside the 60metre radius, to include letter of consent from other landowners affected, if necessary.”
The water source was discovered by Cllr Kelly and a twisted metal coat
hanger and is it expected to produce a €4 million windfall for the village of Lissycasey, it emerged yesterday. The water diviner councillor dis- covered “three major top quality wa- ter springs” in the High Street area 6km from Lissycasey Clare Spring Water Ltd has since lodged plans with Clare County Council for a €4 million bottling plant to bottle the spring water. Along with the €4 million capital outlay, the plant will generate be- tween €1.2 million to €1.5 million per annum in the local economy. Cllr Kelly explains that his ‘water divining’ is carried out through hold-
ing a twisted metal coat hangar in his hands.
He said: “People laugh at it, but 1s 100% successful at finding subter- ranean activity. It gives you a lot of satisfaction when finding new water springs.
Cllr Kelly said that he discovered his talent accidentally 40 years ago when he took a pair of tongs in his hands and he jumped with the shock. Cllr Kelly said: “When searching for water springs, I get positive and negative signals.”
Cllr Kelly’s talent extends to be- ing able to locate injuries in animals such as horses and dogs.