Greens claim water pollution is widespread

Water contamination problems are not confined to Galway and problems with cryptosporidium and E-coli pollution have been widespread for a number of years, the Green Party said yesterday.

Launching a critical assessment yesterday of local authority water services, it identified issues with pollution in Westmeath, Carlow, Wicklow, Limerick, Mayo, Waterford and Clare.

Green Party environment spokesman Ciarán Cuffe said the assessment clearly showed "Dick Roche has to go so we can be guaranteed proper drinking water".

His colleague on Wicklow County Council, Déirdre De Búrca, said Mr Roche's "failure to tackle the problem" had resulted in several "blackspots", notably Arklow town, Enniskerry, Avoca and Blessington in the Minister's own Wicklow constituency.

In Arklow a 10-year problem had meant "raw sewage is floating in the Avoca river and this also has a very negative impact on water quality in the area".

Ms de Búrca called on the Minister to stop blaming Galway County Council while there was a similar crisis "just waiting to happen" in his own constituency.

Green Party deputy leader Cllr Mary White outlined a cryptosporidium outbreak in Carlow more than two years ago which she said had left the water-treatment plant operating at less than capacity. This resulted in very poor water pressure while in Kilkenny, water rationing was currently under way in Mooncoin and at the Waterford border in Ferrybank.

Trish Forde-Brennan said elevated levels of nitrates in Limerick water supplies could result in "blue baby syndrome" and she called for the introduction of integrated water safety plans.

Brian Meaney, deputy mayor of Clare, said the water supply there had capacity for 5,000 people yet had the task of serving 30,000.

The party also supplied information on an incident in Portlaw, Co Waterford, in 2006 in which 11 people were diagnosed with cryptosporidiosis while eight cases were recorded in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, in 2004.

However, good news for the people of Galway city was provided by mayor Niall Ó Brolcháin who said clean water supplies would be provided by June 15th next.

Asked if there had been local opposition to building water treatment plants in the areas mentioned by the party, Ms De Búrca acknowledged that a Green councillor had campaigned against a sewage plant for Arklow.

Party leader Trevor Sargent said there was not time to determine if local campaigns - with or without Green Party involvement - had affected the delivery of water-treatment plants in other areas mentioned by the party.