Our tap water ‘looks like muck’ says Grange man

A GRANGE resident has hit out at the state of the water in the village saying that it could be mistaken for coffee but it looks like it came out the “back end of a bullock”.
Grange residents are again facing a water crisis as the water coming out of their taps “looks like muck”.
One resident, David Large, who lives in Cloonaughbawn, Grange, said: “Yet again this problem has come back to haunt us. The water is disgusting. It looks like something that has come out the back end of a bullock. What are we supposed to do when the water is like this?”
He also hit out at the lack of action from Sligo County Council. “They are aware of the seriousness of the problem. But, no action is being taken and the residents here are not being told anything about how to cope. If we don’t watch it we could be in the same situation as the people of Galway.”
And while residents try their best to carry on despite the crisis, Mr Large added: “We have not been told what is going to be done. And worse we haven’t been told of the hazard of the water.”
He is particularly concerned after a high iron content was detected in the water. “Anyone with any aware-ness of their health will know that a high iron content is very dangerous. The level of iron in the water is way above the EU recommendation.
“And when you add this to the dark brown colour, how are people supposed to wash anything like vegetables or their dishes never mind how people are expected to take a shower in this water.
“This is going on for a long time now and it’s unacceptable that the basic resource of life, which is water, cannot be supplied.” With the water supply reaching crisis point, queues at local shops in the village are becoming the norm.
“What else are people supposed to do. The problem is back and yet again no one seems to care about how serious this is,” he added.
Sligo County Council issued a statement that a team of technical staff are working to ensure that a supply of quality water is restored to people in the north Sligo area.
A spokesperson said: “Raw water quality from the source in north Sligo varied quite considerably over the weekend due to the excessive rainfall towards the end of last week. “Due to this, customers in the north Sligo area are experiencing deterioration in water quality.
“Sligo County Council’s technical staff are working to ensure that a quality water supply is supplied to all customers as soon as possible.”

Sandra Coffey
© Sligo Weekender