Political, business and tourism interests in Galway have given a qualified welcome to the lifting of the "boil water" notice in the city and county.
However, several councillors say that "serious issues" remain, while the Health Service Executive (HSE) West says that a "small number" of people who contracted the gastrointestinal illness, cryptosporidiosis, as a result of water contamination may continue to suffer from the condition indefinitely.
Vigilance in relation to "person to person" spread of the illness must be maintained, according to HSE West's public health director Dr Diarmuid O'Donovan.
It was "too early" to say whether those with long-term infection - including young children - would develop chronic conditions such as liver damage, he said yesterday, but monitoring of their condition would continue.
The lifting of the five-month-old alert was sanctioned at midday yesterday with "immediate effect" by HSE West. Some 242 laboratory-confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis have been recorded since January, and the majority of these were of the "hominis" type - linked to sewage contamination.HSE West believes multiples of this number were infected, as many people did not seek medical help or submit to tests.
Yesterday's decision was taken in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Health Protection Surveillance Centre and the two local authorities - Galway city and county councils.
Three necessary criteria had all been met, Dr O'Donovan said, namely a marked decline in new cases of the illness; installation of improved water treatment measures, including ultra-violet treatment, to remove cryptosporidium at the new Terryland and Luimnagh waterworks in the city and county; and satisfactory results from an enhanced water testing programme.
Dr O'Donovan said that 70,000 people affected by the "boil water" notice since March 15th could use tap water again, unless they were "immuno-compromised" and had been given specific medical advice to the contrary.
As infection spreads very easily among young children, adults should continue to supervise toilet use and hand-washing in this age group, he said.
No one source for the contamination has been identified, according to Galway County Council, and director of services Jim Cullen said he did not anticipate that legal action would be taken by the EPA.
Last week, the EPA told The Irish Timesthat no final decision had been taken on prosecution. It identified Galway as being at "very high risk" of cryptosporidium contamination in 2005, while 20 per cent of public water supplies were designated as "high risk".
The two local authorities said yesterday they had not received any notice of legal proceedings. However, Galway Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Coyle said it would be pressing for a 40 per cent reduction iwater rates for businesses, given that much of the city and county had been without clean water for 40 per cent of the year.
Galway City Council has already agreed to a 10 per cent reduction. Mr Coyle said one hotelier had estimated a net cost of €35,000 as a result of the alert and the issue had had a negative impact on Galway's image.
Galway city and county councils say that additional staff have been taken on to deal with engineering issues, and an upgrading of the sewage treatment plant in Oughterard is being "fast tracked".
Green Party councillor Niall Ó Brolcháin said new policies were required to deal with the overall quality of water on Lough Corrib.
