Dirty water claims denied

Date: 01/03/01

THE government agency responsible for building the EU Food and Veterinary Office in Ireland has strongly denied claims that the water supply to the site is polluted with animal waste or other harmful bacteria.

European Voice reported (15 February issue) that European Commission environment officials were probing the Kiltale Water Scheme, which will supply water to the new agency, for breaching EU quality standards.

But this week the Irish Office of Public Works and the water scheme's managers dismissed the allegations, saying the figures on which they are based are out of date.

Ciaran O'Connor, senior architect at the office, says the most recent tests on the water supplied by the scheme in County Meath show that it meets Union standards. He says the figures the Commission is relying on, from 1994 to 1998, do not relate to the new well from which the current water is drawn.

But EU executive officials stood by their concerns, saying the purity of the water is still in question. "We have a pattern of repeated breaches over a period of years," said a spokesman.

The government agency responsible for building the EU Food and Veterinary Office in Ireland has strongly denied claims that the water supply to the site is polluted with animal waste or other harmful bacteria.