In the meantime, the council is looking at increasing water supply by diverting water from a plant in Limerick to the city, which Hayes estimates will take six weeks or so.

The council is also looking at installing ultra-violet treatment which destroys the cryptosporidium parasite, but that will take at least "a few months" to implement.

Hayes told the Sunday Tribune that the council will also seek to contract a package treatment plant, or ultra-filtration system which will take at least a year to come into operation.

There is widespread disgruntlement amongst residents, hoteliers and bar owners in Galway at the slow pace with which the water crisis . . . which is set to last all summer . . . is being handled.

Residents and businesses are incurring both the inconvenience of boiling water for any use and the expense of buying bottled water for uses including brushing teeth and drinking.

Confusion still surrounds the actual source of the contamination.

Both councils admit that multiple sources are to blame, but are vague on the main source, pointing the finger at every contributing factor imaginable including human sewage in the Corrib, animal waste, the lambing season, the EU nitrates directive preventing the spreading of slurry at certain times of the year, heavy rainfall and bad planning.

The sewage treatment plant at Oughterard has come under fire as a main cause of allowing cryptosporidium into the water supply, but officials are reluctant to say that this is the case. "You're not going to be leading me in to commenting on Oughterard, " Hayes said. "I'm not in a position to comment on Oughterard, other than to say it is a secondary treatment plant." Hayes admitted the council was going to shut down the 50-year-old water plant at Terryland, which treats 30% of the city's water, before the outbreak of cryptosporidium occurred, but that constant development in the city forced them to keep it open.

"Development is a contributory factor. The fact we have development in Galway was a good thing. We were making the decision to wind down the plant at Terryland, but because of pressure of development, we did keep the old plant going. The timing of this outbreak was unfortunate."