Ballina-Lisglennon water supply removed from EPA’s remedial action list

THE Ballina-Lisglennon public water supply scheme has been removed from the Environmental Protection Agency's recently published remedial action list.

The scheme had been on the list for elevated levels of Trihalomethanes (THMs), which are chemicals formed by the reaction of naturally occurring dissolved organic material and chlorine used for disinfection in order to protect against pathogenic bacteria.

Irish Water upgraded the water treatment plant to enable its removal from the EPA's to-do list, with works including optimisation of the processes at the plant along with an upgrade of the disinfection system.

Only one Mayo scheme remains on the remedial action list for elevated levels of THMs - the Inishturk public water supply.

There are two other water supplies in Mayo on the list - Kiltimagh and Lough Mask water treatment plants - but specific improvements to both processes are underway. At Kiltimagh water treatment works, the disinfection system is being upgraded and the water treatment process optimised. At Lough Mask water treatment works, a €1.6 million project to improve the treatment process is under way, with an expected completion date within the coming months. 

Irish Water says it has put in place the first national THM plan and a prioritised programme of investment to address all inadequacies in drinking water parameters, including THMs. By 2021, the utility plans to reduce the number of schemes on the RAL to zero with an investment of €327 million in upgrading water supplies at risk from THMs.