THE tourist town of Newport in Co Mayo has suffered a major setback with of polluted material into the local water supply.
The leak, from the nearby dump at Derrinumera, occurred four weeks ago following a night of heavy storms. It tipped leachate which had collected at the bottom of the dump over a barrier wall of low earth and gravel into the overflowing Yellow river, and on into Lough Beltra, which provides the town's water.
Mayo County Council immediately chlorinated the water and repaired the breach. It has since reassured Newport residents that tests have shown the water to be safe for human consumption.
Local people, however, find these reassurances unconvincing and totally inadequate. They are determined that the council establish a management plan to ensure that a similar breach never recurs.
They are demanding that the leachate emanating from the dump be drained on a daily basis by Mayo County Council, as is the case in most dumps around the country, according to the Newport and District Development Company chairman, Mr Frank Chambers.
"Newport dump is taking two thirds of the county's waste, both domestic and corporate, collecting between 60,000 and 100,000 tonnes annually," he said, "and the leachate level is maintained through the overflow being drained through the pipe, ultimately into Lough Beltra.
"We need a properly managed dump which is lined and enclosed by plastic. Even smaller dumps, like the domestic dump in Kerry, have 25,000 gallons of leachate drained away every day."
Mr Chambers is also a member of Mayo County Council.
Mr Kieran Thompson, proprietor of Newport House Hotel, which last week opened its doors for this year's fishing season, is totally dissatisfied with the situation.
"I am not an engineer, so I just have to accept what I am told regarding the quality of the water, but I am not reassured.
"My major concern is that this must never happen again, but Mayo County Council have not taken any serious steps to prevent a recurrence.
"I would have thought they would at least have had a second bank to collect the leachate should the first one cave in," he said.
Mr Chambers said that £500,000 was required to manage the dump annually, and that residents were prepared to take the matter to the High Court to enforce this.
Mayo County Council is due to present a report on Newport dump at next month's meeting.