*Miltown Malbay. Photograph: Arthur Ellis
Temporary water tankers are to be made available should the mains supply in Miltown Malbay continue to be affected.
Where required, Clare County Council have committed to having water tankers deployed to Miltown Malbay in instances of disruptions to supply.
It follows a motion from Cllr Shane Talty (FF) at the June meeting of the West Clare Municipal District. He requested that the protocol of having temporary water tankers be in place when the mains water supply is disrupted “until such time as works to replace the Mullagh to Miltown Malbay mains and increasing the capacity of the Rockmount Reservoir are completed”.
Households on the scheme have went six days without water, Cllr Talty told the meeting as he flagged outages continue despite previous commitments expressed by Irish Water. “We all know bursts and breaks are going to happen. We know it is going to take up to a week of getting supply so we have to have an intermediary measures”. He stated that there were 30 outages over six days.
Agreement was voiced by Cllr Joe Killeen (FF) that “emergency protocol be applied” in the absence of works. Cllr Cillian Murphy believed it was a “practical and innovative motion”.
Multiple correspondence via phone, emails and letters have been issued to Cllr Roisin Garvey (GP) on the matter, she said. “You wouldn’t get 30 outages in six days in India or developing countries. We need to do it for the people of Miltown Malbay as a matter of urgency”.
Discussions have already taken place “in house” among Council officials, John O’Malley outlined. He said work on a group water section was “imminent” which is expected to stop further seven day outages. The acting senior executive officer of the District confirmed that the local authority would bring out water tankers “where required”. He added, “It will be done properly, there will be a system in place”.
Cathaoirleach of the West Clare MD, Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) welcomed O’Malley’s comments. “Practical solutions that deliver results is what we are talking about”. He said the provision of water tankers would be “a great relief for people”.
In June, Clare TD Cathal Crowe (FF) announced that Irish Water would be carrying out “significant upgrades” to address water issues in Miltown Malbay.
