Poor Water Quality since Water Repairs post Snow event

cherryghost

Hello,

Our quality of water has changed quite dramatically after water works were carried out shortly after the snow event (presumably to fix broken pipes etc). Living in Clondalkin area but I also note users in Lucan area complaining also.

Since early March, I've had to add more salt to our dishwasher (and often recycle the wash again due to staining), descale our kettle on a weekly basis, and stop drinking directly from the tap and use a filter instead. The dirt coming from the taps has been frankly unacceptable. I contacted IW some time ago about this and never got a response. There is a big discussion going on some local Neighbourhood watch groups about this also. We've been in contact without our local TDs also.

Can someone shed some light into this as to why our quality of water has degraded almost overnight? Has the area been moved onto a poorer quality water network?

Irish Water: Allanah

Hi cherryghost,

Thanks for getting in touch.

he water supply in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) comes from a number of different Water Treatment Plants, primarily Leixlip Water Treatment Plant (WTP), Ballymore Eustace WTP and Varty WTP.

Irish Water manages the water supply network on a daily basis to guarantee a more secure supply across the entire region.

Since March 2018, Irish Water has increased the supply of water from the Leixlip WTP to areas of South Dublin (Lucan, Palmerstown and North Clondalkin). Previously these areas were mainly supplied from Ballymore Eustace WTP but are now supplied entirely from Leixlip WTP. This is essential to ensure a secure sustainable water supply to homes and businesses in these areas and avoid water restrictions and water outages.

Both the Leixlip and Ballymore Eustace supply sources meet drinking water regulations but have different characteristics, with Leixlip water being classified as hard, compared to Ballymore Eustace. This is due to its higher mineral content. As a result some customers may find that their water tastes different but there is no change to the quality.

The water being supplied from Leixlip WTP complies with the requirements set out in the Drinking Water Regulations. Leixlip WTP supplies water to almost half a million customers in the GDA.

Hardness is a natural characteristic of much of Ireland's drinking water supply. Hard water contains high levels of natural minerals absorbed from rock and soil. Hard water is not harmful to your health, in fact, the higher mineral content of hard water (such as Calcium and Magnesium) may confer health benefits above that of soft water.

Irish Water do not chemically soften hard water as there are no health risks associated with drinking or using hard water. Depending on the technology used, artificially softened water may not be suitable for everyone to drink, for example, increased sodium levels caused by salt softening may not be suitable for infants or at-risk groups. There is no legislative requirement to remove hardness from drinking water.

Further information relating to water hardness can be found on our website here.

We hope this information helps, please let us know if you require any further information.

Thanks,
Allanah