Clare County Council could be fined up to half a million euro for allowing the parasite cryptosporidium go untreated into Ennis’s public water supply.
Ennis District Court has heard the local authority is pleading guilty to breaching an EPA directive over a five month period last year.
Outlining the case to Judge Joseph Mangan EPA solicitor Alan Doyle said there had been an outbreak of Cryptosporidium in Ennis water supply in 2005 and at the time no water was filtered for it so a temporary plant was put in place.
However Mr Doyle said this wasn’t adequate and that a quarter of the water was going through unfiltered and between January and March 2008 the parasite was allowed into the town’s public supply on several occasions
The EPA then ordered that all water should be filtered for the bug by the 1st of May, but due to heavy rains in June the filters became clogged and only 60 percent of water was getting through.raising concners about the supply to the fire service and other essential services.
Judge Mangan was told the HSE felt that it was better to have a contaminated supply so people could flush their toilets than no water at all so the council decided to by pass the cryptosporidium filters on various dates between July and October.
The court also heard there have been no incidents of cryptosporidium in the water supply since March of this year.
Judge Mangan declined jurisdiction in the case and adjourned it to the circuit court until the 26th of November for the preparation of a book of evidence.
