More Kerry water supplies at risk than any other county according to new RAL update

AN EPA report listing the public water supplies most at risk includes 13 Kerry supplies – more than any other county.

The Kerry supplies serve over 90,000 people, including the Central Regional Lough Guitane supply, which serves more than 62,000 alone.

The latest update of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Remedial Action List (RAL) is a register of supplies with the most serious deficiencies and known to be most at risk.

Half of Kerry’s supplies – Caherdaniel, Castlecove, Kenmare, Lyranes, Mountain Stage, and Lough Guitane, the second biggest supply on the entire list – were included due to having inadequate treatment for the parasite Cryptosporidium.

Another five supplies – Barraduff, Kilgarvan, Lauragh, Shrone, and Ventry – were found to have elevated levels of Trihalomethanes, formed when water is treated with chlorine.

Listowel was included due to elevated levels of pesticides, while Caragh Lake did not make the E coli standard.

Actions proposed to treat the 13 supplies include upgrading water treatment plants (9). In the case of Barraduff, Lauragh, and Shrone, the proposal is to abandon the source of the supply and replace with the central regional supply. No proposal has yet been put forward for Listowel.

In January of 2016, there were 22 Kerry supplies on the list.