White powder in Wexford water, Dec 2020 boil notice

notonyourtin

Ever since the 10 December boil water notice, I have been noticing a lot of fine white powder in our water. It settles out after boiling, or after standing about 30-60 minutes. we were not getting any of this before the boil water notice. It looks like diatomaceous earth.  

What is it?

Thanks!

tabby aspreme

Probably lime

Irish Water: Jose

Hi there,

Thanks for getting in touch.

White discolouration in water can be caused by trapped air or dissolved minerals (lime) associated with water hardness.

Air can get into the water supply following repair work on the network or when a pocket of air becomes trapped in the internal domestic pipework. Aerated water has a cloudy/ milky white appearance.

To determine whether the cause is air or hard water you can: 

Fill a glass with water from the cold tap and observe how it clears -

•Aerated water can take 10 minutes to clear and will clear from the bottom of the glass upwards. Any white water in the water mains from this cause should clear within 2-3 hours.
•Water containing white sediment (hard water) will take an hour or more to clear and will clear from the top of the glass downwards, with the white sediment remaining at the bottom of the glass.

There is no health risk in either circumstance.

Please see: https://www.water.ie/water-supply/supply-issues/discoloured-water/

Thanks,
Jose