Tanker pipes water to supply Coppeen residents

RESIDENTS of Coppeen, the small village between Dunmanway and Béal na Bláth, are having to get their water piped in from a tanker parked outside, Uisce Éireann has confirmed.

‘All customers supplied by the Coppeen water supply have treated water supplied directly through the existing public water mains,’ the utility said in a statement issued to The Southern Star.

In response to queries from The Southern Star, the water utility said that the Coppeen water supply has a number of challenges, both in terms of capacity and the quality of raw water sources.

‘At times of heavy rainfall in particular the quality of the raw water in the spring source deteriorates resulting in high turbidity levels or cloudiness in the water which makes it untreatable,’ a spokesperson said.

‘Uisce Éireann assessed a number of options recognising the vulnerability of the water supply and how we could ensure water supply was maintained to customers, while minimising the potential impact.’

These options included issuing a long-term boil water notice, the provision of water via a tanker, which would have meant the customers would need to boil it before consumption, and thirdly, to provide an external water supply via a tanker that could be fed directly into the water treatment plant for treatment before distribution via the public mains.

The spokesperson added that in mid-2022, Uisce Éireann opted for the third option, ‘to minimise the impact to customers on the scheme’.

Uisce Éireann said it recognises that this is not a long-term sustainable solution, but it ensures that treated water is piped to every customer on supply.

It said it is progressing plans for a long-term solution and submitted a detailed planning application to Cork County Council last month for permission to the ‘failed’ Coppeen ground water spring source with a new production well on the same site.

Queries regarding the large water tanker were raised recently by Labour candidate Evie Nevin, who requested answers from Uisce Éireann about the water supply to the houses at the Terrace.