November 2013
Independent County Councillor Tom Crosby Chairman of the West Regional Authority would like to welcome the announcement by Minister Phil Hogan on Friday last that funds of €12 million have been approved for upgrading water systems in County Roscommon and the construction of five new Water Treatment Plants and one new pumping station on the Arigna Boyle/Ardcarne water supply system.
Cllr Crosby states this announcement by the Minister followed the resolution passed and the submission made by Roscommon County Council to Minister Hogan at a presentation on the takeover of water services in County Roscommon by Irish water at the July meeting of Roscommon County Council. At the July meeting Cllr Tom Crosby had a resolution passed by all members of Roscommon County Council that no water charges would be introduced in County Roscommon until the Minister for the Environment and the government provide adequate funding to put a proper Filtration System on all waters schemes in County Roscommon, so that the people of the Country will have a good quality of water that they can use and drink with confidence and not have two boil the water and to buy bottled water for drinking and other uses.
In his submission Council Crosby highlighted that there is a major problem with the quality of water in the County due to lack of filtration at source and that this is evidenced where over the last year alone the the majority of the public water schemes in the County had outbreaks of Cryptosporidiosis in the source. The affected schemes included the North East Regional Water Supply Scheme serving the Strokestown areas the Boyle/Ardcarne Regional Water Supply Scheme, the Roscommon Central Regional Water Supply Scheme , Castlerea Regional Water Scheme, where notices were issued on all of these water schemes by Roscommon County Council to boil water before use and were in place for several months, the notice still exist in some of the schemes today. Cllr Crosby also stated that the government should be made aware that the Elected Members of Roscommon County Council reserve the right as a reserve function of the Council in handing over the infrastructure such Lands, Water Reservoir and all other associated Council Property in the Takeover by Irish Water.
Cllr Tom Crosby who met with Minister Hogan in his offices in Leinster House on two occasions when he was then Mayor of the County in December last and April last on all water issues in County Roscommon.
Cllr Crosby also been informed by Minister Hogan and Roscommon County Council that the Tender documents are now issued for the Construction of the new water treatment system for the North East Regional Water Scheme. Cllr Crosby made water quality and the North East Regional Water Scheme Project one of his top priority at the AGM meeting of the Council when he was elected Mayor last year. Approximately ten thousand people in the Strokestown area is served by the North East Regional Water Scheme which Cllr Crosby was very problematic over the years, the scheme having to be closed down at different times due to serious problems with the source. Last year there was a boil water notice in place for Several months due to the cryptosporidium in the source. Cllr Crosby states that the new Filtration system together with the re-location of the source from Lisheen to Grange Lake will be most welcome by the people that are served by the North East Regional Water Scheme in Strokestown, Elphin, Tulsk, parts of Ballyleague, Rooskey, Tarmonbarry and all the surrounding areas to these towns and villages. Cllr Crosby confirms the funding is secured for the scheme which is around nine million euro and work on the project will commence in January or February next.