East Cork councillor calls on Irish Water to lift boil water notice or explain the specific risks

An East Cork councillor has called on Irish Water to either lift the boil water notice it has imposed on the area for the next eight months or explain the specific risks associated with the supply in the region.

The suggestion from Michael Hegarty (FG) comes after Irish Water said the precautionary boil water notice on the Whitegate/Dower rural water supply scheme must remain in place for a further six to eight months.

It said heavy rainfall over winter has led to high turbidity, or cloudiness, in the water supplying the water-treatment plant. It said if the turbidity of the water entering the plant is above an allowable level, the plant “automatically shuts down as full treatment can not be guaranteed”.