The Macnas street theatre troupe is promising to use bottled mineral water only for its parade's "special effects" display in Galway tomorrow due to the ongoing water quality crisis.
Macnas spokeswoman Jill Murray confirmed to The Irish Timesyesterday that 80 litres of water sprays will be uncontaminated, and even bubbles blown by arts festival parade participants will be "cryptosporidium-free".
Macnas says it took the decision to use bottled water only given the number of children performing in and attending the parade.
A local company, Clada Group Ltd, which supplies Galway Irish Spring Water drinks, is sponsoring the supplies.
It is over four months since the highly resistant cryptosporidium parasite was detected in Galway's public water supply, and a "boil water" alert still applies to some 70,000 residents in the city and parts of the county.
A fortnight ago, the alert was lifted for some 20,000 residents on the eastern city/county border.
Some 238 laboratory-confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis, the gastrointestinal illness caused by the parasite, have been recorded since January, and most tested cases have been traced to human sewage contaminating the Corrib catchment.
However, no new cases of the illness have been reported in several weeks, and efforts are continuing to divert supplies to the city from the Luimnagh waterworks in the north of the county.
An electrical fault at Luimnagh yesterday caused a "restriction" to supply in parts of Knocknacarra, the city council said last evening.
The debate over the cause and the cost is still continuing, with Fine Gael TD Pádraic McCormack calling on the Government earlier this week to remove VAT from mineral water sold in the city and county.
Galway branch members of the Vintners' Federation of Ireland and the Irish Hotels' Federation have also held informal discussions about initiating legal action to recoup expenses incurred because of the outbreak.
Galway City Council has agreed to a 10 per cent rebate in water charges, but Galway Chamber of Commerce believes that it needs to be double or treble this, given the duration of the problem.
However, keen-eyed observers are likely to detect at least one incidence of cryptosporidium among a melee led by philanthropic "explorer and entrepreneur" Mr Big through Eyre Square and beyond from 3pm tomorrow.
Watch out for Mr Big's "ninth wonder of the world" which, by all reports, was captured on Lough Corrib. . .
