Irish city crippled by water emergency

Anybody planning a trip to West of Ireland?

Irish city crippled by water emergency

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6530721.stm

A major water crisis has left scores of people ill and tens of thousands at
risk from contamination in a west of Ireland city.
Galway's water supply has been hit by an outbreak of the parasite
cryptosporidium, with up to 170 people now confirmed to have been hit by a
serious stomach bug as a result.

The outbreak has severely affected homes and businesses in Ireland's
third-biggest city and residents have been warned that the crisis could last
for months.

Doctors have warned that the parasite could be life threatening, especially
to young children, the elderly and people with low immune systems.


Parents' concerns


Tests found that the city's water supply contained nearly 60 times the safe
limit of cryptosporidium pollution.

Residents have already been unable to drink or use water for food
preparation for weeks and have complained that no free clean water has been
made available by the authorities.

Parents with young families have also expressed real concerns and demanded
action.

"It's not right, we shouldn't have to pay for our water when the local
supply is polluted," said Galway resident Sarah Doran.

"I'm spending up to three euros a day on bottled water. If this goes on for
nine months, as we've been told it could, that's going to add up.

"People just won't be able to afford it."

Galway City Council has told the BBC News website that they have been
advised by the health authorities that tankers of free water could create
further health problems, by increasing the risk of spreading bacteria.

The mayor of Galway, Niall O Brolchain, has called on the Irish government
to provide more funding to upgrade water treatment services.

However, Irish Environment Minister Dick Roche said that the government had
already made 21m euros available for such projects in Galway, but the local
council had failed to make use of the money.

'Warning for years'

Business leaders have also expressed worries over the impact the crisis will
have on what is traditionally the beginning of the tourist season in the
west of Ireland.

One hotelier said it was costing him up to 2,000 euros a week to provide
bottled water for his guests, and he was now being forced to install his own
filtration system.

However, Galway GP Martin Daly warned that filtration was not the answer.

"The newest water treatment plant we have is 40 years old," he said.

"People have been warning for years about this. Filtration is not the
answer. We need to go to the source of the contamination to solve it."