Water wastage through leaks or carelessness will result in significant extra costs being incurred by the scheme and ultimately its members. To minimise wastage on your con - Water Quality Read your nections/meters, you should. • Carry out a thorough check of your water pipes and sys - tems and make repairs where necessary • Replace all leaking tap washers, etc. • Check your water meter reading regularly and take acti on Results 2008 Hward frosat in tearley Janruary mIt is simpele totreadeyourr meter. A total of 435 samples of the supply to assess compliance if you notice any unusual water usage. left us with many difficulties The white dials are cubic me - Kilmaley-Inagh GWS treated with the Drinking Water Regu - • Use your water supply in the knowledge that each litre or in supplying some areas of the ters and the red dials are hun - lations. gallon used (beyond your annual allowance) will incur water supply were analysed dreds, tenths and litres. If you Cryptosporidium scheme and many homes and additional costs. throughout 2008, all of which see your litre dial moving and A risk assessment for Cryp - farms in the Inch and Kilna - If you require help with the meter reading, please contact tested clear for the crucial bac - have no water running in your tosporidium was carried out on mona area, in particular, were Noel Carmody @ 087-2836118. teriological parameters, total house at the time, then you may our source and it was judged without water. coliforms and E-coli. have a leak that needs to be in - ‘low risk’. Testing of our raw This was caused by leakage on As part of implementing our vestigated further. own quality assurance system, water confirms that this contam - our members’ side of the con - nection, due to bursts in thaw - Cost of leakage regular testing is carried out in - inant is not present. ing pipes. If you have a water leak and ternally by the scheme so that Cloudy water While it is always recom - you consume the allowed 180 any incidences of contamination Members often ask why their 3 mended to check your meter on m (i.e. 180,000 litres) per year, can be quickly identified and re - water is sometimes cloudy when a regular basis, it is vital to do you are liable for charges above solved. poured, but clears after sitting so in periods of frosty weather. the free domestic amount. Consistent testing is carried out for a short while. The reason is Universal metering A typical house uses 90 to 100 by the treatment plant operator, that air has gotten into the sup - 3 The majority of our scheme is m per year. If you are using ply (possibly through a faulty air EPS, while Clare County Coun - A treated water sample being taken for analysis on Kilmaley-Inagh GWS. The now metered and we are con - more then this then you should cil and the HSE also monitor the valve). This is harmless! scheme carried out 435 tests on the supply in 2008. tinually encouraging members become more conscious of to read their meters once a your usage and see how you month, at a minimum. can reduce it. Financing a group water scheme those years and without his hard The introduction of a €100 cap - Facts Ours is the largest privately- the problems and costs will Thanks to work we would not be where ital charge by the Kilmaley- The fact of the matter is that sourced group water scheme in mount over time, especially the Jimmy Meehan we are today. Inagh GWS committee last July since 1997 public water supply Ireland, extending over five incidence of leaks and bursts. The com - Jimmy Meehan retired from mittee ex - prompted a range of responses is 100% funded by the govern - parishes and with about 250 Without this investment, hav - the Kilmaley-Inagh GWS tends its ment. Group schemes are not. kilometres of distribution net - ing no water in your tap could from scheme members. committee at last year’s AGM sincere “The minister said I have free While we get a substantial con - work and associated valves, as become the norm. after nearly 30 years dedi - thanks to water, so why are you charging tribution towards supplying well as district reservoirs etc. Charge cated service. Jimmy and € me?” “You’re introducing stealth water to domestic consumers It cost almost 1 million to run We would like to thank all those Jimmy was heavily involved in wishes him taxes.” “People in town don’t pay (for which we are very grateful) the scheme last year and this is who have paid it and to remind running the scheme throughout well. for their water”. ”Is this a one off this doesn’t meet all of our run - through very tight control over those who still have to pay to do charge”? ” €100 is nothing for ning costs. spending. so without delay. It is not a lot of the service we get”. ”We have no The reality is that group It is also important to state that money to ask for a vital service. schemes receive approximately our charge (where there was Every member of the scheme is Schoolchildren learn about water problem paying it; we know how Pupils at Connolly NS (pic - hard it is to raise money”. 60% of their operational costs one!) has traditionally been far obliged to pay their share towards tured left) were amongst hun - € “ 100? I’d pay 200. People do up to the maximum allowed for less than that paid on an annual charges agreed at an AGM . dreds of schoolchildren in the not know how lucky they are”! each household. basis by members of most other Our earnest wish is to avoid Kilmaley-Inagh GWS area to Continued from page 1 The allowance since 2000 has schemes. having to enforce that obliga - receive copies of the ‘All About € Water’ workbook in February. The proposal for an enhanced been just over 100 per domes - Having said that, our income tion through strict application of ‘All About water’ is part of a treatment system is still await - tic connection. This increased to has to reflect the real cost of the rules. € wider curriculum developed ing approval but we are hopeful 140 last year. No allowance is water production and distribu - through the National Source of receiving funding. made towards the cost of non- tion, in addition to reinvestment Protection Pilot Project. The reality is that the raw water domestic supplies. in our infrastructure. It is com - The GWS sector is centrally quality we experienced could be The difference has to be made mon sense. involved in this project and a one off or it could be the new up from charges, whether on Charge individual schemes are being norm. Either way, we must have new connections or on the me - The €100 charge introduced on encouraged to provide local a treatment plant that is robust tered usage of those exceeding this scheme last year is essential schools with copies of the enough to deal with all types of their generous ‘free’ allowance. for us to continue our critical workbooks, a ‘lab in a box’ raw water quality. While we receive 85% of cap - capital investment programme. and other learning aids. The proposed system is more Connolly, Inch, Kilmaley, ital costs towards upgrades, the Remember, much of our infra - expensive to run but we believe A reservoir ballcock held in place by Inagh, Kilnamona, Cloon- remaining 15% has to come out structure is 30 years old and it it will be worth it if it provides a rope is just one of numerous items anaha schools have all re - top quality water. of our own resources. needs to be replaced. Otherwise, requiring replacement on our GWS. ceived their workbooks. Licensing March 25th date set for of Kilmaley-PUIBLnISHED aBY FgEIGhHROE GWS AGRICULTURAL CO-OP March Annual General Meet ing SOCIETY LTD . 2009 Our Annual General Meeting Secretary , Noel Carmody, J. J. Rynne, Carrowkeel, Inagh ; 2s009cseehs thee inmtroducetiosn of will take place in Inagh Com - Feighroe, Connolly ; David Sheedy, Kilmorane, Report Treasurer , Tom Burke, Moy - Ennis ; licensing for drinking water munity Centre on March 25th at 8pm. hill, Ennistymon . Pat Gallagher, Moughna, Mil - Message service providers in an effort All our members are encour - town Malbay ; Treatment Plant Upgrade to ensure that the required aged to attend if at all possible. Other Members: Johnny Crawford, Cloonanaha, from the water quality standards are New committee members Joseph Costello, Kilmorane Inagh . achieved across the sector. would be particularly welcome. Ennis; Agenda Chairman Whilst there is an complex ap - We have areas in the scheme Thomas Costelloe, Edenvale The agenda for the Annual Gen - Once again, as we approach is now being consid ered plication process and stringent with no representation such as Ennis; eral Meeting is as follows: our Annual General Meeting guidelines to obtaining a li - Kilmaley and Kilnamona. John Hehir, Feighroe, Connolly ; on the 25th of March, we look deterioration in raw water quality prompts review The committee typically meets Raymond Foudy, Been, Inagh ; 1. Minutes of last AGM. cense, we are confident that back on the past year and on Winter of 2008 proved one of At that point, raw water quality the Drinking Water Regulations every 6 weeks for about 2 John Hegarty, Moughna, Mil - Kilmaley-Inagh GWS has 2. Chairperson’s address. our plans for the future. the most difficult periods in in the lake deteriorated; in par - than to laden it with chemicals hours, so it is not a lot of time to town Malbay ; everything in place to be 2008 proved a disappointing ticular, it became highly in an effort to reduce the colour ask for over a year. Pat Crowe, Ilanbaun, Inagh ; 3. Secretary’s report. the history of the Kilmaley granted its license. year for the scheme, due to the coloured, probably due to the and have it undrinkable. Our current committee in - Adrian McMahon, Drimeen, Inagh Group Water Scheme as 4. Financial & Auditor’s report. deterioration of water quality extremely long period of bad While colour has improved in This will help reinforce the cludes the following: Ennis ; raw water quality in our lake weather. the treated water, raw water message that (despite the occa - Chairman , James B. Lynch, Thomas Keane, Drimeen, Ennis ; 5. Appointment of Auditor. in our source, Loch na Minna, source seriously deteriorated, Difficulties quality is not back to where it sional setback) scheme mem - Boulyneaska, Kilmaley ; Michael Halpin, Bushypark ; and our consequent inability with a knock-on effect on our 6. Election of committee. This created difficulties for our should be and still exceeds the bers can have confidence in the Vice Chair , Richard Devereux, Vincent Barry, Clongowna, Kil - to deliver quality water to our ability to provide quality treatment plant which (like any treatment plant design limits. water supply. Ballyvraneen, Ennistymon ; namona ; members. drinking water. 7. Any other business. other) is designed to treat colour Unfortunately we have little Undersink units Although water quality has This deterioration has prompted a review of our water and other parameters in the raw control over this and will have In our last newsletter we improved of late, we are seek - treatment plant and the pro - water up to a maximum level. to let nature take its course. warned about a scam that has ing approval for the conver - posed addition of more robust When that maximum is ex - Application been played out in hundreds of sion of our existing treatment ceeded, as happened in our case, To guard against future problems , Proposed Upgrade Works plant to a DAF (Dissolved Air treatment to deal with high rural households, where expen - Kilmaley-Inagh Group Water Scheme is currently seeking coun - colour and other parameters. the plant may prove inadequate. we recently lodged an applica - Flotation) system that will sive and unnecessary undersink cil funding towards the cost of the following upgrade works in Worries As a result, not all of the colour tion with Clare County Council units are marketed through 2009. Your development charge will go towards the 15% local cater a wide range of water We believed that once our new from the lake water could be re - and the Department of Environ - € pressure sales techniques. contribution to such works, assuming that county council approval quality and enable the scheme treatment plant had come into moved. This led to a greenish ment for a 597,000 modifica - Since then, one of the most ac - is secured. to once more deliver top qual - operation that our worries on colour in the treated water. tion of our plant to convert it tive of these companies, Pure • Replacement of water mains in Inagh and Connolly Rural ity water to our members. water quality would be over. The committee and EPS (our into a Dissolved Air Flotation This newsletter is intended to Indeed the plant provided good treatment plant operators) de - (DAF) system that can cater for H2O has been named and Housing Organisation. quality water for the most of its cided that it was better to have raw water quality three times shamed by RTE’s Special In - • Refurbishment of 6 pumphouses. highlight this and other issues first 2 years, until the end of Oc - some colour in the treated water worse than we experienced. vestigative Unit. • Refurbishment of 8 reservoirs. encountered by the committee and the management of the tober 2008. and to have it still comply with Continued on page 2 We would urge our members, • Deployment of secondary chlorination stations. • Replacement of some mains at Fermoyle, Cragliegh, Kilna - group scheme. if approached by any such com - mona, Ballymacooda, Maurice Mills, Clonboula and Furroor. We firmly believe that you, as pany, to think carefully before • Installation of 25 additional telemetry bulk meters to monitor a member, have a right to be purchasing anything. water flow into various districts. informed about such issues. Your tap supply meets all na - Virtually all of the above works focus on water conservation, as this We would like to thank all tional and EU regulatory stan - has to remain a priority in avoiding wastage. those who have paid their de - dards. There is, therefore, no As part of our drive to address the issue of unaccounted for water velopment charge and remind need whatsoever to spend money and to fix bursts as quickly as possible, the scheme has installed sev - those who have yet to con - on undersink units that can them - eral Cully meters along the network [pictured right]. These alert us tribute to forward their pay - selves pose a health risk. immediately of surges of water passing through our pipework . ment as soon as possible. However, for this to work we Website Staff Finally, I would encourage all Keeping you need your mobile contact de - To keep yourself informed of Kilmaley-Inagh GWS employs members to do their best to at - tails. We require one mobile developments on an ongoing three staff members to run the tend the AGM and to actively contact detail per household. basis, why not visit our website scheme on a day-to-day basis participate in the future devel - Please text your name, number www.kilmaleyinaghgws.ie . under the overall direction of informed opment of this vital service. We would like to set up a sys - and townland to 085-7039348 This includes alerts for planned the management committee. Thank you for your support tem where, if we ever an issue or email noel.carmody@kil - outages, scouring, disruptions Our staff are: with our water supply and we maleyinaghgws.ie . and important information on Noel Carmody (Manager), and co-operation. needed to immediately contact Remember it won’t work unless what is going on in the scheme. Feighroe, Connolly; James B. Lynch you as a member, we could do you forward your details, so You can use it to keep in touch Pat Lynch , Lisroe, Kilmaley; Chairman Deteriorating raw water quality in Loch na Minna in 2008 had an impact on treated water quality. A proposal is now on the so through your mobile phone. please do so without delay. with your water supply. Brian Barry, Ballyea, Inagh. Kilmaley-Inagh GWS table to enhance the treatment plant facilities so that a quality treated supply can be guaranteed, even with difficult raw water.