Revealed: 120,000 affected by substandard water

WATER supplies to almost 120,000 people throughout the country were so bad last year that they had a boil water notice or restriction of use placed on them, it has emerged.

And while extreme weather conditions in August last year were partly to blame, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said most were preventable with improved management and operational practice.

Public health notices were issued in relation to 53 water supplies between September 2007 and September 2008 serving around 118,000 people all over the country.