FEARS have been expressed about the quality of the drinking water supply in Killarney with concerns that not enough is being done to protect public health.
In 2007 the Environment Protection Agency recommended an urgent review of monitoring for cryptosporidium in the Loughguittane water scheme and called for a suitable barrier protection system to prevent contamination from cattle and other animals.
According to Cllr Donal Grady, the EPA set a completion date of December 2016 for the upgrading of the plant but he said the timescale is totally unacceptable given the circumstances and the likely repercussions if anything goes wrong.
“I call on the EPA and Irish Water to expedite the completion date as it’s a critical health issue considering the population that the scheme serves,” he said.
“I have raised the issues regarding Loughguittane on numerous occasions while on Killarney Town Council and I will continue to raise them on Kerry County Council,” Cllr Grady added.
The Loughguittane water scheme provides drinking water to Killarney, Tralee and Castleisland, serving close on 56,000 people.
Cllr Grady said an outbreak of cryptosporidium, as happened in Galway in 2007, would have disastrous consequences for Killarney and for tourism in the county.
