So, here we go again, eh? Another year, another water crisis, another case of city officials seemingly all at sea as regards what to do in a crisis. You have to ask yourself, will it ever be safe to go back to the water in Galway again? And even if it is, will you ever drink tap water again?

Moreover, given the series of blunders that we have had in the space of 18 months, can we ever trust this council, the HSE or the EPA again, who seem to have acted as little more than a conspiracy of dunces in the current crisis?

There's only one thing worse than a crisis in this city and that is the finger pointing and consequent lousy excuse proffering that goes on in the wake of the event. We saw it in the wake of the Eyre Square debacle. We saw it during and after the cryptosporidium water crisis and we see it again here.

The Health Service Executive is at fault for not letting the council know earlier that there were high levels of lead in the water supply. The council is to blame for apparently not heeding EPA warnings on lead contamination or for not anticipating the problem and updating the lead piping in the affected areas. The councillors are to blame for constantly bickering and thereby distracting the city officials so that they can't get their job done…

Why is it that no body or agency seems to want to assume responsibility when a major issue is brewing and take prompt, affirmative action before it gets to boiling point? It's enough to make you nauseous, if you weren't already nauseous from the thought of drinking dodgy water without knowing it. Finger pointing and excuse proffering is of absolutely no use to us immediately as we deal with this very serious threat to public health.

Thankfully, the only casualty of war so far seems to be information. Blood tests carried out on residents in affected areas have returned results within the normal range. It could have been much worse.

Environment Minister John Gormley has called on all parties concerned to work together to restore confidence in Galway water. Given the fact that an emergency water supply for Mervue residents had to be shut down because it was also contaminated at the weekend, they have a long way to go to prove that they are even capable of comprehending the problem.

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