Council take their water critics to task
Critics of Mayo County Council 's implementation of the Group Water Scheme programme in the county have been taken to task. Members of the authority rejected claims made by Dr Jerry Cowley, chairman of the Mayo Federation of Group Water Schemes, who had suggested that funding made to the council was not being allocated fast enough and as a result groups water schemes were losing out. Mr. Alec Fleming, deputy county manager, said the priority for the council was to deliver a quality water service to all communities as soon as possible. They were doing that by a variety of means including the extension of the Regional Water supplies to as many communities as possible and by linking private schemes to sources of supply that fully met EU drinking water standards. During 1997 responsibility for group water supplies was devolved to the council and since then there had been two allocations of funding from the department which related to the taking over of schemes and the upgrading of defective or inefficient schemes. "If anything we have over-allocated those funds," said Mr. Fleming. "We have in train works costing over £5 million and we are hoping that the Dept will meet those costs when we seek to draw downs funds." He pointed out that three major schemes were currently being cleared through the scheme. Bohola was well advanced while the contracts for Belderrig had recently been signed and Ballycroy would shortly be through all planning stages. Mr. Fleming added that the council had spent considerable time working through the detail of a dedicated treatment package which could be put in place for a variety of schemes. This had involved considerable research and they were now satisfied that they had the treatment issue resolved and that the package now in place would serve to meet the demands of a number of schemes. He said the council had received a list of seventeen schemes from the Department approved for grant aid. These had been in the early stages of planning and had not been in a position to spend funding. The total cost of grant aiding the schemes was over £1.7m. Planning on these had been progressed considerably. Mr. Sean McEvoy congratulated the staff of the Group Water Scheme section on their excellent progress. "Recently we were attacked for not spending money. The fact is that we have over allocated funds and will write these cheques as soon as the work is done," he said. "The criticism made of the council was wide of the mark and people should be told that. These people talk continuously about partnership. You don't criticise your partner and tell them they are wrong, especially when they are not wrong. If you do you are heading for divorce and quickly," he said. Mr. McEvoy said the council was going ahead with the programme of work and he thanked the staff for their co-operation in relation to the Bohola scheme in which he had a considerable interest. "We will get to all the other schemes as soon as we can." Paid TributeMr. Padraic Cosgrove also paid tribute to the staff of the section. They had been inundated with work when the scheme was devolved to the council and had done a magnificent job. He asked what the situation was with regard to the Inver G.S. as it had been listed for take over seven years ago but did not appear anywhere on the lists now. Senator Paddy Burke said the council was on the right track. It had the expertise to bring quality water to every home and anyone with any knowledge of the council's work would appreciate that the authority was never slow to spend funds allocated to it. Mr. John Flannery said he was puzzled that a number of group schemes in his area had not been listed for grant aid. There was a lot of controversy in his area about schemes and while he appreciated the work the council had done there still remained a lot of work to be done. Mr. Fleming pointed out that not all schemes in the county had been listed on the documentation circulated to councillors. There were about 120 schemes in the county to be catered for. Mr. Martin Joe O'Toole said the group scheme for Inishturk was on the list for a long time. There was a problem with both the quality and the quantity of the existing scheme. He suggested that the scheme might be brought forward and the work carried out while machinery was on the island for road making works. Mr. Eddie Staunton enquired what the situation was in the village of Knockbrack where they did not have any water supply at all. Mr. Michael Burke said the goal of the council was to bring quality water to every home in the county. It would take time and people would have to show patience. Taking sideswipes at the council was not advancing the cause of those with a poor or inadequate water supply. Mr. Brian Golden said the council had to get its plans right before tackling the problems. They had done that and now there were a variety of schemes ready to go ahead. It was important that the good name of the council was maintained and negative publicity had to be put down. Deep EndSenator Frank Chambers said the council had been thrown in at the deep end by the Department. There was a huge backlog of work involved in group schemes in Mayo and the council had gone about tackling it in a very efficient manner. He pointed out that there was now a huge problem with water quality in this country something that was borne out by the high sales of spring waters such as Ballygowan. It was important that they progressed all schemes as quickly as possible and that they would tackle problem schemes where the sources were contaminated. "We have a serious obligation to tackle this issue and provide all of our people with a safe and adequate water supply," he said, Senator Chambers added that as well as catering to the requirements of group schemes the council had a duty to protect existing good supplies. The need for a sewerage scheme in Tourmakeady as a protection for the water in -Lough Mask had to be given high priority. Ms. Annie May Reape thanked the group water scheme staff for their efficient and courteous service. She could not agree with the complaints made against them. She asked when they could expect progress to be reported on the Behy GS in Ballina. Mr. Jim Mannion said there was a vast area in South Mayo from Hollymount to the Galway border and there were huge problems with the water supply. They had been looking forward to the problem being tackled as part of the Lough Mask Regional Scheme but this had now diverted to Ballyhaunis and Knock. Top priority now had to be given to having the area properly served. Excellent JobMr. Paddy Oliver said an excellent job was done in upgrading the Bohola scheme. It would set the standard for other schemes and the treatment works designed for Bohola could serve as a template for other similar size schemes. He suggested that the Urlaur/Kilmovee scheme would be provided with the same treatment solution as Bohola. Mr. Al McDonnell, chairman said he was confident the programme was in very good hands. He had experience of the efficient and speedy manner in which the staff in the GS section dealt with their work and he had every confidence in them. "People need have no worries. I would simply ask them to continue the good work they have started," he said. Mr. Fleming said that one of the problems with the schemes was the local contribution. The council helped schemes as much as they could with that. It was also a difficulty for the council that they could not take over any scheme which owed money to the authority for water. These were issues that the council had no choice in. It was a matter for the schemes to get things in order. He declared that once schemes were brought up to standard the council would take them over as soon as possible. Mr. Des Mahon, manager, said a considerable amount of work had been got through in a relatively short period of time since responsibility was devolved to the council. A huge amount of work had gone into the Bohola scheme in a determined effort to get the issue of treatment right. A new system had been pioneered and they were now satisfied that they had a solution that could be used in other schemes such as Ballycroy. |
