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.