There have been calls for Tipperary County Council to restore access to the Galtee Public Water supply to customers in West Tipp.
The issue was raised at this month’s Tipperary Cahir Cashel MD meeting by Cllr Michael Fitzgerald who said that customers on the Galtee Supply were moved to a supplemental supply when levels in the reservoir were low.
However, the reserve supply is untreated water and is leading to issues with limescale build-up, causing undue stress to people.
Speaking to Tipp FM, Cllr Fitzgerald said that the supplemental supply should only be used in cases where the treated water supply is low.
“I’m just asking Tipperary County Council and Irish Water to revert now to the Galtee Scheme. That is treated water, it’s not hard water, the reservoirs up in Galtee Mór must be at capacity now with all the rain that we’ve had, so I don’t see any reason why we should still be on borehole. This problem is affecting a huge area in West Tipperary.”
Cllr Fitzgerald also said that ‘common sense has gone out the window’ when dealing with Irish Water to solve issues in Tipperary.
As of January 1st, all water services transferred over to Irish Water, meaning the County Council have no control over water issues, a move he said adds another layer of red tape to the process.
“Common sense has gone out the window when we deal with Irish Water. There’s a whole area of explanation that has to be carried out to explain to people in offices in Irish Water what exactly you’re talking about, whereas before council personnel and people working in the water services in the county council knew exactly what you were talking about.
“It’s a different ball game now, I don’t know whether we’ll ever be able to change that, whether it’s there and that’s it.”
