Drinking water was ‘unsafe’ for a year
Watchdog report reveals delay on risk assessment
AROUND 1,000 people were using unsafe drinking water for a year before authorities warned it should be boiled, a new report has revealed.
An audit by the Environmental Protection Agency showed a water treatment plant near the east Clare village of O’brien’s Bridge had distributed inadequately disinfected supply.
EPA officials found “a lack of communication” between Clare County Council and Uisce Eireann resulted in a significant delay in identifying the extent of the deficiency in the ultraviolet disinfection system.
A boil water notice was finally issued on August 25, 2023 for the protection of public health following consultation with the HSE.
That was around 12 months after the supply’s UV disinfection system had been out of operation. The EPA said the failure of Uisce Eireann, formerly Irish Water, to notify it and the HSE of the failure of the UV disinfection system for “a prolonged period of time” meant the risk assessment did not start “in a timely manner.”
Disinfection of the supply with chlorine remained in place while the UV disinfection system was out of service.
But the audit found treated water had not met the minimum recommended chlorine contact time as laid out by the World Health Organisation.
The environmental watchdog added: “This means that the plant produced unsafe drinking water for a period of 12 months due to the loss of the cryptosporidium treatment barrier compounded by inadequate chlorine contact time.” The audit was carried out by the EPA after it was notified by Uisce Eireann about the imposition of a boil water notice on the supply.
Residents of O’brien’s Bridge as well as other nearby villages Bridgetown, Co Clare and Montpellier, Co Limerick with a total population of 944 are provided with drinking water from the supply.
Three tests carried out by Clare County Council on samples from the supply for cryptosporidium last September were clear.
Neither Clare County Council nor Uisce Eireann were able to confirm if the incident which first resulted in the failure of the UV disinfection system had been escalated at the time.
Uisce Eireann was also unable to state how many properties were impacted by water supplies with inadequate chlorine contact time.