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Updated 17.28

THE DIFFICULTIES WITH the water supply at University Hospital Waterford continue with all elective procedures tomorrow now postponed.

“The ongoing difficulties in the public water supply at UHW remain,” a spokeperson said this afternoon. “The level of discoloration has eased slightly… the situation continues to be monitored closely,” she added.

As a precautionary measure UHW will curtail elective services, and approximately 30 patients scheduled for elective procedures tomorrow will be postponed.

These patients will be rescheduled as soon as possible. All emergency and cancer care will continue as normal.

In an earlier statement, Irish Water apologised for the disruption caused. A spokesperson for the company said the issue resulted from “the loss of supply due to an unplanned water interruption in the Dunmore Road area”.

“Irish Water and Waterford City and County Council responded to an incident resulting in poor water pressure at Waterford Hospital on Monday morning.

Water supply levels depleted over the weekend due to a technical fault following a lightning strike at pumps supplying water to a local reservoir. The restoration of water supply was then prioritised to the hospital by Irish Water. As a result, customers in the Dunmore Road and surrounding areas in Waterford City were impacted by an unplanned water interruption.

“Irish Water was and remains in direct contact with hospital management as we worked to restore full supply to the hospital. Water was restored to the hospital at adequate pressure by 1pm on Monday and to surrounding areas by 5pm.

“Following the incident there is some discolouration of water in the general supply area. Hospital management were advised that this is a normal occurrence after supply interruptions,” the statement said, adding that the issue should be resolved soon.

In a statement this morning, the hospital said: “Arising from difficulties experienced in the public water supply from one of Waterford’s reservoirs, University Hospital Waterford, as a precautionary measure, is postponing elective procedures for a period of 24 hours.

“It is expected by that time that the restoration of full water supply will be to the required clinical standards allowing for the full resumption of all services.”

Additional reporting Cianan Brennan

First published 8.17am

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