The Minister said “the upgrading works at Terryland will produce an extra 20,000m3 of water per day, which will reduce the city’s dependency on Galway County Council’s Luimnagh Water Treatment Plant, as well as providing additional capacity to meet medium term needs”. The water supplied to the city from Luimnagh has facilitated the decommissioning of the City Council’s “Old” Terryland Water Treatment Plant, which was at the centre of last year’s cryptosporidium outbreak and is now permanently closed.
The Minister said that “Galway City’s longer term water needs will be catered for through the €22.1m Galway City Water Supply Scheme which is also being funded under my Department’s Water Services Investment Programme 2007 - 2009.” The €3.9m upgrade is an advance section of that scheme.
The minister added that “the funding of these works by my Department, along with the 19% increase to €560m in the capital funding for new water and sewerage schemes in 2009, reflects the commitment in the Programme for Government that our public drinking water supplies will deliver a reliable service that is 100% compliant with drinking water standards”. Referring to the lead problem currently affecting certain areas of the city, the Minister said that “Galway City Council is working hard to resolve the problem and my Department is also funding any necessary infrastructural works needed to deal with this issue”.
