This article is from page 6 of the 2009-01-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
FIVE Clare villages are celebrat- ing the commencement of work on a wastewater treatment project that has been in the pipeline for more than 40 years.
Clare County Council has signed a €4.3 million contract with Treat- ment System Services Ltd (TSSL) to construct treatment facilities for the villages of Scariff, Tuamgraney and Feakle in east Clare, as well as Quilty and Mullagh in the west of the county.
The contract complements the ex- isting €7 million network contract, which is now nearing completion. Under the contract TSSL will design and build three new treatment, trans- fer and outfall facilities, including a sea outfall at Quilty, on the west coast of Clare. The contractor will then enter a 20-year operation and maintenance period bringing the ultimate value of the contract to €9 million. The scheme will be opera- tional by the end of 2009, and fully commissioned in early 2010. Welcoming the contract signing at Aras Contae An Chlair, Mayor of Clare Cllr Madeleine Taylor-Quinn (FG) expressed her delight that a project that had been on the politi- cal agenda of Clare County Council for over 40 years had finally been brought to fruition.
“I would like to pay tribute to the many current, former and deceased county councillors who have worked
tirelessly to ensure that the depart- ment would sanction this long over- due project.
“IT also wish to compliment the engineering staff of Clare County Council who have always done their utmost to advance the project despite repeated alterations by the Department to the criteria for such schemes,” added the Mayor.
Councillor Taylor Quinn noted that for many years the lack of adequate infrastructure had led to pressure being placed on the rural areas con- cerned in relation to development.
The Mayor explained, “Due to the lack of such vital infrastructure in- creasing numbers of people have ap- plied to the county council for per- mission to build and to provide their own septic tank and water supply. I believe that the completion of work on the schemes will relieve much of this pressure and provide for the
rural regeneration and sustained eco- nomic development of the respective regions.”
Clare County Council has a sig- nificant water services programme underway at present. Water Supply Schemes are nearing completion in Newmarket-on-Fergus, Kilkee, En- nis, and Ballyvaughan. In addition sewerage schemes are underway or nearing completion in Tulla, New- market-on-Fergus and Corofin, with further improvement schemes to start in Quin and Killimer this year.