There was positive news for two west Mayo communities in regard to long awaited water projects at the December meeting of the West Mayo Municipal District.
Iarla Moran, head of water services for Mayo County Council gave an update on a number of water projects at the meeting, including a new sewage treatment plant for Newport and a water supply project for Murrisk.
The need for a sewage treatment plant in Newport has become a major issue in the town in recent years, with raw sewage flowing into Clew Bay. Moran told the meeting that study had been put in place for a treatment plant in Newport and that he was hopeful that funding would be made available for the construction of the plant, that would hopefully begin construction on a phased process in 2023.
Fianna Fáil Cllr Brendan Mulroy, who has been a long time advocate for the need for a sewage treatment plant in the area, welcomed the news and said that he would continue to fight to ensure there are no delays between now and the getting the project up and running.
In relation to the water supply to Murrisk - Moran told the meeting that he has been working with locals to get a group water scheme up and running in the area and that a feasibility study on the costs of the project was being carried out. He said that he was confident that an application to include the scheme in the next round of funding for schemes could be made and that if the go-ahead was got it would take between two to three years to complete.
Independent Cllr Christy Hyland welcomed the news in regards to the Murrisk scheme saying that he hoped the people of Murrisk would finally get the drinking water that they deserved, and it would be a major boost to the economy particularly for tourism in the area.
The members were also told that progress had been made in relation to the flood defences in Carrowholly in Westport which was severely effected by flooding five years ago. Environmental issues had held up plans to carry out works for a number of years, but the councillors were told that the council hoped to be in a position to get moving on getting the planning approval they needed to carry out works to remedy the issues in the near future.
