North Galway residents enjoy safest tap water in country

By TONY GALVIN RESIDENTS of Tuam and those lucky enough to be hooked up to the state-of-the-art water treatment system at Luimnagh, which is supplying the town, need not worry over alarming headlines that at least 1.3 million people are being supplied with unsafe tap water. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report indicates that up to 290 treatment plants throughout the country are in urgent need of upgrading, as they no longer can supply drinking water that the EPA can stand over. There are still serious concerns over numerous drinking water supplies throughout the county but Tuam residents can rest assured that they have with the safest tap water in the country. The treatment plant at Luimnagh, near Headford, is considered one of the most modern in the country and the supply is monitored on a 24-hour basis. The chlorination and other processes are also closely monitored to ensure consistent quality and safety. This supply is tapped into by several group water schemes which have opted to source their water from Galway Co Council. The supply which is pumped to Tuam is also pumped as far as Athenry and Oranmore and since the cryptosporidium outbreak, even reaches parts of Galway city. Tuam Area Cllr Sean Canney said households connected to the Luimnagh source were lucky to have such a clean and reliable source of domestic water and the supply was a credit to all involved. However, he warned of a need for greater investment in water infrastructure as it was counterproductive to have locations such as Milltown and Claregalway without high quality sewage treatment plants. This could see important water sources such as the River Clare polluted as it flows into the Corrib, which is the initial source of our tap water supply. 'It doesn't make sense to allow pollution of the supply and then spend huge amounts of money cleaning it up again. The sooner we can stand over the county's entire tap water supply, the happier we will all be,' he said.