NORTH Tipperary County Council plans to sink a new well to replace Nenagh's public drinking water supply which was severely polluted earlier this month.
Council consultants will send proposals to the Department of the Environment for drilling a new source close to the contaminated one within a few days, according to the county manager, Mr John McGinley.
If these are accepted, drilling of the new well could begin in three to four weeks.
About 5,000 householders in Nenagh have been without mains drinking water since the town's supply was polluted in what is regarded as the worst such incident in recent years.
The pollution has been linked to the US multinational, Procter and Gamble, which has a plant within 100 yards of the well in the Gortlandroe Industrial Estate. The estate was developed by Shannon Free Airport Development Company (SFADCo). A spokesperson for Shannon Development said it is also undertaking its own investigation.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said yesterday that its investigation on the and Gamble site "and there may be more than one source of contamination".
It said a process effluent pipeline was found to be discharging effluent to the ground near the well. It also found that the SFADCo drain was leaking.
The council is continuing to supply drinking water to businesses and residents twice a day from bulk tankers made available by local dairies. The weekly cost of this supply is £10,000, Mr McGinley said.
The well at Gortlandroe industrial estate in the west of the town was discovered 22 years ago. It is one of two sources of mains drinking water for the town. The second, four miles west of Nenagh in Newtown, is still supplying drinking water to some householders.