Macroom gets €6.5m investment in water treatment

Uisce Éireann is set to invest €6.5m into the Macroom Water Treatment Plant under plans aimed at ending boil water notices that have impacted Macroom, Carrigadrohid, Canovee, and surrounding areas in recent years.

An Uisce Éireann spokesperson confirmed to The Echo that the upgrade is due to commence shortly.

“This is a critical investment of over €6.5m, which will benefit homes and businesses in Macroom providing the community with improved drinking water quality and providing a more reliable water supply,” the spokesperson said.

“The upgrade will also address treatment and management issues for the Macroom regional water supply, which is on the Environmental Protection Agency’s remedial action list,” they added.

Fianna Fáil Cork North West TD Aindrias Moynihan described this news as long overdue for the town of Macroom and the surrounding areas.

“There is a lot of work ahead, and it will be important to keep after [Uisce Éireann], but finally there is a clear roadmap ahead to deal with the repeated boil water notices locals have endured in recent years.”

Mr Moynihan added: “There is a good bit of work to go on it yet.

“But, it is a chance to finally get rid of these boil water notices and poor drinking water quality that people have endured in the Canovee, Carrigadrohid, and Macroom area.”

Speaking to The Echo about the situation in Macroom, Fine Gael senator Eileen Lynch said the amount of boil water notices the town has been impacted by in the last few years is “absolutely insane”.

“It puts an extra burden on people financially.”

Ms Lynch added that it is important that the service provided by the wastewater treatment centre be “adequate and satisfactory” and “large enough to service the town and also plans ahead for the expansion of the town”.

Sinn Féin senator Nicole Ryan said the news of an Uisce Éireann investment into the Macroom Water Treatment Plant is welcome.

“There have been issues with water in Macroom for the last two to nearly three years, so thankfully something is being done about that,” she told The Echo.

“Just how long it is going to take and is there going to be more disruption to people, is just the question around that.

“Hopefully it does get done fast. Then people can enjoy better quality of water.”

“I hope that Uisce Éireann are transparent with people as well. Equally, if Macroom starts to inflate, because there is so many houses being built and there is new families moving in constantly, that Uisce Éireann keeps up with that infrastructure.“