IRISH WATER IS to contact 140,000 homes and businesses to update them on the quality of their water supply over the coming weeks. 

These homes and business are on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Remedial Action List (RAL) which lists ‘at risk’ water supplies where drinking water quality isn’t as good as it could be. 

Irish Water previously only contacted homes and businesses if there was a drinking water supply problem likely to cause an immediate risk to health.

While the utility has said that it will continue to do that, the utility has moved to contact the additional homes and addresses, following a recent policy statement which called for better engagement and greater transparency for people using public water supplies. 

Over the coming weeks, each home and business will receive a letter and booklet from Irish Water with information on their specific water supply.

Apart from water supply problems which pose an immediate health risk, there are a number of other potential issues with water supplies. 

The reasons why homes and businesses will receive a letter may include;

• Elevated levels of chemical compounds known as trihalomethanes (THMs).
• Inadequate barriers for cryptosporidium.
• Poor turbidity removal.
• Presence of low levels of pesticides.

THMs & Cryptosporidium

When disinfecting drinking water, Irish Water uses chlorine, an effect of which is that chemical compounds called trihalomethanes (THMs) can form over time.

This happens when chlorine reacts with natural organic matter such as particles of dirt, twigs and leaves found in the water.

In August, the European Commission opened an infringement case against Ireland in the EU Court of Justice because it had continued to exceed the limits of trihalomethane contamination in drinking water supplies across the country.

If swallowed, cryptosporidium, a tiny parasite found in human and animal waste, can cause a disease called cryptosporidiosis.

This parasite can be found in water if it’s been contaminated. Or if there’s been a problem with water treatment.

Irish Water says that it has identified the need to improve treatment for cryptosporidium in 16 of its 800 water treatment plants.

Turbidity & MCPA

A measure of the cloudiness of water, turbidity can affect the look, taste and smell of drinking water. But it is safe to drink.

After heavy rain, certain water supplies can be prone to increased levels of turbidity. 

MCPA, a herbicide contained in many products used to control thistle, dock and rush around Ireland, is the pesticide that’s being detected most frequently in drinking water supplies in Ireland, Irish Water has said. 

However, pesticide levels that have been identified so far do not pose a health risk. 

If concerned, people can enter their home address and get water quality tests results going back to 2014.

Head of Asset Management for Irish Water, Sean Laffey today said:

In 2015, 121 drinking water schemes were on the EPA’s Remedial Action List. Irish Water has a goal to ensure to remove all of these schemes are removed from the list by 2021.

Approximately 366,000 people are affected by the new measures.