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The water treatment plant at Ballymore Eustace Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Dublin City Council: We're not sure what the problem is but it's almost fixed

Dublin City Engineer Michael Phillips said climate change could have been one of the reasons behind the problem at the water treatment plant.

DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has said it is hopeful that the water restrictions for Dublin will be lifted this Thursday.

Speaking this morning, Dublin City Engineer Michael Phillips said that while engineers have found a way to treat the problem, they are still not entirely sure what the problem is or what caused it.

Phillips said that the data will be analysed over the coming weeks to find out what caused the chemical imbalance at the Ballymore Eustace water treatment plant.

“Each river is a slight bit different,” he said. “This polyelectrolite has worked extremely well with us. It has continued working, but it will take us a number of weeks while we go back, gather all the data chemically, and analyse the water in a really detailed manner so to minimise this situation arising again in the future”.

He told RTE Radio One’s Morning Ireland that the local authorities should know by Thursday morning if the water levels have returned to full production and have stabilised. If that happens, he said, the Councils will consider lifting the restrictions.

“There’s very few black and white solutions,” he said. “It’s always a combination.”

Phillips also suggested that climate change could possibly have one of the factors which led to the problems at the Ballymore Eustace treatment plant, but said that it could have just been a one-off seasonal issue – “and if that’s the case then we’ll be grateful that that’s what it is,” he said.

Phillips rejected any suggestion of compensation for businesses affected by the water restrictions and said that many residential households had also been affected.

Councillors on Dublin City Council last night unanimously voted in favour of bringing Environment Minister Phil Hogan and executives from Irish Water before it to answer questions about the ongoing water problems.

Dubliners have had to deal with a loss of supply or low pressure for almost one week now, with the restrictions lasting from 8pm at night until at least 7 o’clock in the morning.

The restrictions were originally due to remain in place until yesterday but this was extended until Thursday.

Dublin City Council – which has been giving information on behalf of the four local authorities involved – has said that engineers are working around the clock to identify the cause of the problem and to mitigate the effects.

Read: Dublin City Council passes motion to call Hogan and Irish water before it >

Read: Water restrictions to remain as reservoirs remain “at an unsustainably low level” >

Column: What our water shortages tell Web Summit investors >

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54 Comments
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    Mute CrabaRev
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    Feb 26th 2019, 8:42 AM

    @Ann Lennon:
    From reading this and other articles, it would appear that the “fall from grace” was in his mind.
    A much more pertinent question, was the councillor with with whom he had 10 sessions suitably qualified to determine whether Hawe was a danger to himself or his family? I think “the two felt a connection.” is an extraordinary statement.

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    Mute James Wallace
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    Feb 26th 2019, 9:44 AM

    @John Jones: the point is they don’t know. The gardai won’t release the files and the school has never once contacted the family.

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    Mute James Wallace
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    Feb 26th 2019, 11:32 AM

    @John Jones: no, not a deliberate cover up, but the family are entiteled to some answers to their legitimate questions. The fact that the school has never contacted these people is not speculation, it’s fact, according to them.

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    Mute Anthony Gallagher
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    Feb 26th 2019, 10:32 AM

    Tragic and cruel, but there are far too many experts on here giving their twopence worth.If only mental health was that easy to diagnose,leave it to those that have some idea what they are talking about .

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    Mute Matt Beaumont
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    Feb 26th 2019, 10:41 AM

    @Anthony Gallagher: well obviously they didn’t in that case.

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    Mute John Jones
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    Feb 26th 2019, 10:46 AM

    @James Wallace: Do you think theres a cover up. I think it’s sad how there’s a massive slight being put on the school based on pure speculation.

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    Mute Jane
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    Feb 26th 2019, 2:18 PM

    @CrabaRev: I dont think it’s true to say the fall from grace was in his head. From the Independent.

    He has said in his own words that he was caught red-handed and we do know that he was looking at pornography….

    “We’ve had sight of the counselling notes and he had said he was masturbating somewhere that he shouldn’t have been… So we have pieces of information but we don’t know who caught him.
    “We do know, in the June, he cancelled all his counselling sessions and this all happened the day before he was to return to school,” she said. “He said that it was easier for them to die than to have to live with the truth of what he was doing.”

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    Mute Pauline Gallagher
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    Feb 26th 2019, 8:10 PM

    @Jane: The counselor said that he said this?? She was in a position to go to gardai with this information; patient confidentiality goes out the window when there is a real risk to life. Did she pass this information onto the guards before the murders?

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    Mute CrabaRev
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    Feb 26th 2019, 4:54 PM

    @Jane: I replied to your comment, but my comment was deleted for some weird Journal.ie reason. What you have just quoted from the Indo was a quote from Clodagh’s sister.

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    Mute GerryCummins
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    Feb 27th 2019, 12:19 AM

    It seems it is about the will, and who gets what! Which family benefits from the assets left over…I was wondering why this case had come up again. It is petty infighting between family…..over the assets left behind…

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    Mute Maria Hickey-Fagan
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    Feb 27th 2019, 12:57 AM

    @GerryCummins: would you ever stop. This is a broken, devastated family looking for answers.

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    Mute Anne O'Brien
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    Feb 28th 2019, 4:33 AM

    This Family needs answers, why do they not have the full story. Release all records if you will not share the truth. That councillor statement is bizarre, and a big worry if you ask me. Badly done school. I say wow Mammy, Sister, Granmother, and Aunt you are now fighting for the defenseless I really hope you get your answers. Why O Why

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    Mute helen walsh
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    Feb 27th 2019, 12:40 AM

    My comments are constantly removed, who is behind that? Is my personal information being given to cronies..

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