Drinking water for 400,000 people is contaminated

Celtarion

Hi Team,

Can you please explain why the results of the quality of the water is not mentioned on the bills? Can you please also provide a full and clear official statement that Cork is not contaminated as I can't find anything on the web nor on your website.

Lately the newspaper advised that 400.000 people might have been contaminated by the water and as a result it increases risk of certain cancers, such as bladder and colon; reproductive problems such as miscarriages, birth defects, and low birth rates; and damage to the heart, lungs, liver, kidney, and central nervous system.


The affected people[font=PT Sans, sans-serif] are in various parts of the country, with several in Kerry and Cork, Kilkenny City, Waterford, Wicklow, Meath, Mayo, Roscommon, Donegal, and Galway. [/font][font=PT Sans, sans-serif]I live in Cork, and I[/font][font=PT Sans, sans-serif] kindly ask you to provide a statement that there is NO RISK AT ALL for the consumption of your water in my area. Any documentation from your company would help.[/font]

I am concerned by this situation since I use the water supplied by your company that you billed for my needs but you don't provide enough guarantee that you met the requirements following EU regulations.

irishexaminer.com/ireland/drinking-water-for-400000-people-is-contaminated-382387.html

Thanks.

Irish Water: Niall

Hi Celtarion,

I understand your concern regarding this matter.

The water supply is regularly monitored and tested by Irish Water. If any risks are identified, a Drinking Water Restriction may be put in place immediately and would not be lifted until supply is safe to consume again. This is all done in conjunction with the Health Service Executive.

You can view your water quality results here.

I hope this information helps.

Kind regards,
Niall

daisyday121

HI.  I have just checked the link you've provided. I have a concern about the quality of water supplied to me. When I typed in my address to find the data I found that all the results for this year were pending ; Fair enough, it is only February. However when I checked previous years results all are still pending. There are just two results posted (both of which show excessive limits) for 100's of samples taken. This is unacceptable. How can we have confidence in our drinking supply if all the samples taken since 2014 are still pending review?

Irish Water: Niall

Hi daisyday121,

Thank you for getting in touch.

daisyday121 wrote: »

HI. I have just checked the link you've provided. I have a concern about the quality of water supplied to me. When I typed in my address to find the data I found that all the results for this year were pending ; Fair enough, it is only February. However when I checked previous years results all are still pending. There are just two results posted (both of which show excessive limits) for 100's of samples taken. This is unacceptable. How can we have confidence in our drinking supply if all the samples taken since 2014 are still pending review?

I understand your concern regarding this query.

Would you mind sending the following details via PM and we can look into this:

- Name;
- Address; and
- Contact Number.

Thanks in advance,
Niall

Celtarion

Hi Team,

I had a look at the weblink you kindly provided. Can I ask you why since the beginning of this year, some of the parameters don't have any results displayed at all? They don't appear if I compare 2016/2015.

I am concerned on the fact that 2 samples of Trihalomethanes (THM's) out of 13 were not in compliance regarding EU Water Regulations in 2015 and there is no results displayed for 2016. 

You can double check the summary of the drinking water quality results for the Water Supply zone : Cork City Water Supply

How can I get an official document from your company stating that the water you supply to my home is safe for the health for the years 2014 and 2015 and in compliance regarding the EU regulations?

Thanks.

Irish Water: Mairead

Hi Celtarion,

Under Drinking Water regulations, two types of regulatory checks are carried out on tap water samples in a supply zone.

The first is called a "check" sample and the second is an "audit" sample.

An audit sample is a comprehensive test of all parameters that need to be tested under these regulations. They are tested less frequently than "check" samples, which test subsets of these parameters.

If an area sample does not comply with regulations for THMs, the HSE are notified and their advice is requested in relation to the protection of public health.

In both instances of the THM exceedances detected in 2015, the HSE did not deem that they posed a risk to the public health of customers on the supply. If the HSE decides that this may be all customers on the supply will be immediately notified.

Trihalomethanes are tested during audit water sample checks, which may not have been taken the year 2016 yet.

As soon as these sample results are available, they will be updated on the water quality results on our website here.

I hope you found this information helpful.

Kind regards,
Mairead