GALWAY County Council has said it cannot yet identify the source of pollution of public water supplies in the Connemara village of Roundstone. The Western Health Board has advised people not to drink the water.
While the confirmed presence of the bacterium, E coli, indicated a faecal source of pollution, the council's secretary, Mr Tom Kavanagh, said, definitive test results were yet to be received. Sampling was continuing and two water tankers were supplying fresh water. Some 600 people live in the supply area, but tourists can double this number in summer.
"We can confirm that there is a presence of E coli," Mr Kavanagh said yesterday. "We have had problems in the area in the past but never as bad as this. We have never been advised by the Western Health Board that people should not consume the water. The ban on consumption will continue until the board gives us the all clear."
While the council declined to identify possible sources, it is understood the pollution is most likely to be from an agricultural source. The surrounding hinterland is an area of intensive sheep grazing, which has been a cause for concern as possible overgrazing has damaged vegetation and increased the risk of poor water.
In addition, there is a huge volume of surface water in the area feeding into the supply system, as opposed to ground water, which is less vulnerable to pollution. Difficulties with the supply have been exacerbated by high rainfall.
The Progressive Democrats environment spokeswoman, Ms Mairin Quill, accused the Minister, Mr Howlin, of failing to guarantee acceptable standards for water quality in reservoirs, lakes and rivers. In a statement Ms Quill said: "The Minister was warned last May by a senior farm adviser with Teagasc that the country was facing an `environmental time bomb' this summer in terms of water pollution."
She said the Roundstone incident and that in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, showed that the regulations and legislation on sewage management and industrial pollution were ineffective.