This article is from page 24 of the 2011-01-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 24 JPG
THE water supply situation in County Clare has now stabilised and is back to normal, according to Clare County Council.
The local authority said yesterday that as of January 10, 2011, there would be no further planned shut offs of the water supply in any part of the county.
Water tanks are still available at The Promenade in Lahinch and the County Council offices in Ennistymon.
A spokesperson said, “The council would advise persons to remain vigilant in respect of water supplies to vacant properties and land as water demand is still high. As usual, the council appeals to the public to conserve water at all times. The council would like to thank the public for its understanding response to the water supply situation over the last two weeks.”
At yesterday’s monthly meeting of Clare County Council, County Manager Tom Coughlan praised the efforts of council staff, many of whom, he said, had worked for free to repair water supply problems last December.
Mr Coughlan told the meeting that a total of 200 people had been involved in the council’s response to problems that emerged following extreme cold weather conditions. He explained that Clare had experienced three periods of severe weather over the past 14 months and that while some staff were paid for their work, many had responded on a “goodwill basis”.
He said that in a lot of cases, council staff were experiencing their own water supply problems at home while at the same time attempting to alleviate difficulties encountered by the wider public.
Mr Coughlan said someone had remarked to him that a lot of the criti- cism levelled at the public service had “died down” over the last two months.
He added that it appeared to be “open season” on public servants for 10 months of the year, but in periods of water supply shortages and busy accident and emergency units, criticism is far less vocal.
“It’s just a comment that was made to me. I’m not saying I agree with it”, said Mr Coughlan.
He said the council’s response to crisis had been formulated prior to freezing weather, and had been de- livered “on the ground” through local area offices.
There was also unanimous praise for council workers from councilors and officials at the January meeting of Ennis Town Council.
Town Manager Ger Dollard told the meeting that the council’s helpline had logged 500 calls a day since December 20, 2010, and that 360 leaks had been repaired in Ennis since December 26.
Town Engineer Eamon O’Dea said there had been a huge increase in demand for water use in Ennis resulting in production at the Ennis Water Treatment Plant reaching almost 20,000 cubic metres on December 27.
Normal demand in the Ennis area is 15,000 cubic metres. Mr O’Dea said the council had turned off water in almost 70 unoccupied premises and businesses in Ennis.
He said that during the supply shortage period, Clarecastle, including the Roche pharmaceutical plant, received water from Ennis and west Clare.