Murrisk water issues not under remit of Irish Water

THE water supply servicing Murrisk does not fall under the remit of Irish Water.

Local residents staged a protest yesterday (Monday) outside a meeting of West Mayo Municipal District in Murrisk Community Centre over the condition of the water supply in the village.

Irish Water has today issued a statement clarifying that the drinking water supply in Murrisk, including at the public toilets at the bottom of Croagh Patrick, is not part of a public water supply, therefore Irish Water does not have responsibility for this supply, meaning that Irish Water has no mandate to maintain, monitor or test this water supply.

The extension of the public water supply to service the Murrisk area is not part of Irish Water’s current investment plan.

In respect of issues concerning Newport sewerage, Irish Water has clarified that the EPA is not prosecuting Irish Water in relation to Newport.

The following statement set out details for the implementation of a treatment system:

There are two separate wastewater collection networks in Newport on either side of the bay. There is an EPA discharge licence in place for the agglomeration. The current water quality in the bay is assigned by the EPA as having 'Good' status under the Water Framework Directive.

Newport was not included in the Irish Water 2017-2021 investment plan as it was not listed as a 'no treatment' agglomeration in EPA reports published in 2013 and 2014. It was listed in these reports as receiving primary treatment as per the Wastewater Discharge Licence Application submitted in 2010. This classification was made before Irish Water was established.

Following a national review by Irish Water of all wastewater primary treatment sites, the two discharges from Newport were deemed by Irish Water to have no treatment.

As Newport has since been re-classified by the EPA as having no treatment, Newport will now be included in Irish Water’s next capital investment submission to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (formally CER) which will consider all high priority needs. This submission will be made in early 2018. Irish Water has committed to progressing this project and providing treatment in Newport by Q4 2023.

In relation to a complaint in July 2016, Irish Water examined the wastewater treatment process in Newport. The two tanks and areas adjacent to the outfall were reviewed and the location of the complaint area where a photograph appears to have been taken was observed and examined.

No evidence of deleterious matter was found at the location detailed. There was some run off of silt/mud from a building site detected.