There were sighs of relief across Ballinahown this week as the boil water notice which has been in place in the village since August was finally lifted.
Following clear testing for microbial and chemical parameters, carried out by the Health Services Executive last week, Westmeath County Council announced on Tuesday that the village water supply is once again safe to drink unboiled.
A temporary connection to the Clara/ Ferbane regional water supply has also been successfully established, linking the village system to Co Offaly’s water supply through pipes along the N62 road.
It is almost six weeks now since Ballinahown’s residents were instructed that water could not be used unboiled for drinking, food preparation, teeth-brushing, or the bathing of children, following the discovery of amounts of the bacteriological contaminants, e-coli and coli-forms in the water scheme.
However, while works were taking place on the treatment works, the source of Ballinahown’s water became entirely unavailable when a major fault occurred at the pumping station. Westmeath County Council immediately began work to connect the village to the Offaly supply, while water was pumped into homes on a temporary basis from a tanker of water taken from the Athlone supply.
Plans are also underway to install a reservoir south of Ballinahown so that water can be taken from the Clara/Ferbane system during off-peak hours at night time, in order to protect the Offaly supply and to ensure back up in case of an interruption in supply.
Local councillor John Dolan paid tribute this week to the work done by council staff in laying the new pipes in such a short space of time.
“The people are delighted as this had dragged on long enough, but I don’t think the council could have acted any quicker,” he said, adding that he was pleased that his original suggestion of linking the village’s supply to the Offaly supply had become a reality. “There is nowhere else to go for water until the completion of the South Westmeath water scheme,” he said.
A spokesperson for Westmeath County Council paid tribute this week to Offaly County Council for its co-operation, and also to the residents of Ballinahown village for their patience and understanding during the disruption.
