LAST UPDATE | 4 Nov 2019
A BOIL WATER notice has been re-issued for parts of Dublin, Kildare and Meath due to bad weather.
Irish Water has said that the notice will impact approximately 600,000 people and comes as a result of heavy rain.
The areas impacted are the same as those that were affected by a widespread notice a fortnight ago.
A map of the areas is available on the Irish Water website.
The provider said that the decision was taken by the HSE, Irish Water and Fingal County Council as a precaution “to protect the health of customers supplied by Leixlip Water Treatment Plant”.
Irish Water said this evening that, due to heavy rain, turbidity (cloudy water containing suspended particles) exceeded acceptable levels in the source water in the old Leixlip plant.
Irish Water added:
Plant operators reacted quickly before alarms were activated and shut down the old plant to stop this water entering the network. There were no issues at the new plant, where the level of turbidity was managed by the newer technology on site. It was essential to re-start production at the old plant, which produces 20% of drinking water for Dublin, otherwise significant restrictions and outages would be inevitable. As Irish Water cannot guarantee the quality the water from the old plant, a Boil Water Notice is now in place.
The notice comes 10 days after the previous boil water notice was lifted three days after it was put in place.
Irish Water spokesperson Eamon Gallen has apologised for the “impact and inconvenience” caused by the notice but said that public safety had to take priority.
Gallen said that Irish Water was forced to choose between leaving customers without water for washing or re-opening the old Leixlip plant.
“The choice we were faced with was customers having a severely restricted water supply for a long period of time or having water for sanitation purposes such as showering and flushing of toilets,” Gallen said this evening.
We were left with no option but to resume production at the old plant in the knowledge that a Boil Water Notice would then be necessary. We will work with Fingal County Council to get the Boil Water Notice lifted as soon as possible, subject to consultation with the EPA and HSE.
When a boil water is in place, water must be boiled for: drinking, use in the preparation of uncooked foods (such as salads), brushing of teeth, the making of ice.
Safely boiled water should be brought to a vigorous boil, such as in a kettle, and then allowed to cool. It should be covered stored in a fridge or cold place.
Water does not need to be boiled for washing, bathing and the flushing of toilets but caution should be taken when bathing children to ensure that they do not swallow the bathing water
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