WATER tanks which cost €1m of public funding have been sitting idle on Sherkin Island for the past four years, it has emerged.

The situation was raised at a council meeting where members described the waste of capital investment as “scandalous”.

Cllr Daniel Sexton (Ind Ire) made the point at a meeting of West Cork Municipal District this week, saying that the storage tanks have never been commissioned and are still not in operation.

The works were part of the Skibbereen Regional Water Supply Scheme, which saw a €28m investment in the region and the installation of service reservoirs in Schull, Leap, Sherkin Island and Castledonovan.

Cllr Sexton said that the installation of a 1.8km rising main, which would allow water to be pumped to the tanks, is the “last piece of the jigsaw”.

He said that, as far as he was aware, once these works were carried out the tanks would be able to fulfil their vital role as emergency reservoirs for the island.

He explained that if there was a break in the water main that crosses the harbour from Baltimore, particularly during stormy weather when it may be unsafe to carry out repairs, the storage tanks could supply households on the island until a repair could be undertaken.

He said islanders should not have to worry about the mains every time a storm comes and that at this stage they should have security in knowing there is water ready and available on the island when it’s needed.

Cllr Sexton asked to write to Uisce Éireann, requesting a timeline and detailed plans for the completion of the necessary works.

He looked for the support of his fellow councillors, saying that pressure from the council does speed up the process.

Cllr Isobel Towse (SD) supported the motion and said the fact the tanks have been unused for years, after such significant investment, has left “a lot of people baffled”. She had previously looked into the issue alongside Sherkin Island Development Society and had been informed at the time that mains upgrades were needed because the current pipes could not handle the necessary water pressure to reach the tanks.

Cllr Finbarr Harrington (Ind) added that Uisce Éireann need to re-evaluate the water supply in the wider region.

He pointed out that over the past two summers water has had to be tankered to reservoirs across West Cork as a contingency measure.

It followed the closure of water treatment plants in Drimoleague, Skeagh and Ballinlough.

Cllr Harrington said Uisce Éireann “put all its eggs in two baskets” when it shut down these plants and upgraded the facilities in Ballyhilty and Lake Cross.

He said the capacity and resilience of the system should be re-examined while asking for the decision to decommission Skeagh water treatment plant to be revisited.

It followed the closure of water treatment plants in Drimoleague, Skeagh and Ballinlough as part of the Skibbereen Regional Water Supply Scheme.

Cllr Harrington acknowledged that the warm weather over the past two years, particularly this summer, would have increased demand.

However, he stated that if articulated trucks have to repeatedly transport treated water around West Cork to keep reservoirs topped up, then “we have to ask whether that is a sustainable long-term solution”. He said it doesn’t seem to be an economical or environmentally sustainable solution.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.