An EPA audit of a West Clare public water supply serving over 700 people has found that intense rainfall events led to metal exceedances on four occasions in three months.
The report also noted an absence of operational control at the Kildysart Water Treatment Plant.
The audit of the Kildysart Public Water Treatment Plant and Public Water Supply was carried out by the EPA on March 3rd.
The review was conducted after the allowable level of aluminium in a drinking water supply was exceeded on four occasions between December and February.
The first aluminium failure on the network serving the Kildysart-Coolmeen group water scheme was not reported until three weeks after it happened and the EPA says this meant the risk to public health was not assessed in a timely manner.
The cause of the plant performance issues was attributed to variations in raw water quality following an intense rainfall event, which caused problems with the clarification process and aluminium to enter the water supply.
The water serving the Coolmeen-Kildysart scheme is extracted from Gortaglass Lake and during the audit, Clare County Council confirmed the lake has issues with algal blooms, with algae prevalent almost all year round.
As a result, the EPA found the source was not adequately protected from contamination.
The Environmental Protection Agency also noted the reservoir which contains the water supply was not adequately inspected or maintained.
Ultimately the EPA determined there was an absence of oversight, management and operational control at the Kilydysart Water Treatment Plant.
Uisce Éireann has stated the water treatment plant will be upgraded, however a timeframe for completion has not been provided.
