A DETAILED report on the pollution of water supplies for 2,000 people in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, is to be published by the Environmental Protection Agency tomorrow.
The report of the investigation will run to at least 50 pages. According to EPA sources, a draft report was presented to the agency's board yesterday for finalisation.
Hundreds of homes in Nenagh were left without drinking water after a natural well, which provides almost a quarter of the town's domestic supply, was contaminated more than four weeks ago. The contamination was so severe that people could readily detect a strong chemical smell when taps were turned on.
The well is adjacent to the Procter and Gamble factory on the outskirts of the town, but the company has denied that it is responsible for the pollution. The Irish Times understands that another possible source of pollution is a SFADCo sewerage pipe which is only 15 metres from the well source.
The EPA report is expected to look at all possible sources of the pollution, and it is understood it may name more than one possible source. According to the EPA, the suspected polluter or polluters will be taken before the courts.
Since the incident, Nenagh residents have had to rely on visits to their homes three times a day by water tankers provided by the local authority.
Residents have complained that, because of the poor of the water and its odour, they have beef forced eat out because of their to prepare vegetables, clothes has also caused great difficulty because of the smell the water supply.
Although the Mid Western Health Board has not reported any undue increase in illnesses in the town, some residents who used the water supply to take a shower have complained of rashes.
Because of the extent of the contamination of the well, Nenagh Urban District Council has now abandoned it as a domestic water source.
In the past few weeks, four new test holes have been drilled near the town centre in an effort to locate a new water source, and it is understood that one of these has been successful.
The local authority is expected to be in a position within a week, to bring the new source on line and to dispense with the services, of the water tankers.