Eight-month boil water notice for east Cork could be lifted within days

A boil water notice affecting some 10,000 people across vast swathes of east Cork since February could be lifted within days.

Irish Water confirmed yesterday it is awaiting the outcome of crucial tests on water samples taken from the upgraded Whitegate/Dower regional water supply scheme and hopes to be in a position to lift the notice soon, once the HSE gives the all-clear.

The precautionary boil water notice was imposed early this year on the public water supply scheme which supplies around 9m litres of drinking water every day to homes and business in areas of Midleton, Cloyne, Aghada, Whitegate, Ballycotton, Churchtown, and Trabolgan.

It was the third such boil water notice to affect the water treatment plant in recent months and followed weeks of record rainfall — up to four times heavier than the previous winter — which waterlogged land around the plant, and resulted in high turbidity, or cloudiness, in the water supply entering the facility.

If the turbidity of the water entering the plant breaches allowable levels, the plant automatically shuts down as full water treatment cannot be guaranteed.

The decision to enforce a boil water notice was taken in conjunction with the HSE in the interests of public health to eliminate the risk of infection to householders.

However, within days, Irish Water said the boil water notice would have to remain in place for between six and eight months while a short-term upgrade solution was found.

A spokesperson for Irish Water said it has been prioritising the lifting of the boil water notice on the scheme, and has spent in the region of €1m on the installation of new filtration units at the treatment plant.

The units were commissioned in mid-September and dozens of water samples have been taken since to ensure the quality of water being produced maintains a high quality over a protracted period of time.

It is understood initial test results are positive and a decision to lift the boil water notice could be taken in days. Irish Water said it is engaging with the HSE and Environmental Protection Agency with a view to lifting the boil water notice as quickly as possible.

In the meantime, Irish Water is still working on a long-term engineering solution to prevent a re- occurrence at the plant.

The plant sources its water from the Dower river, which is largely underground but rises to ground level through a cave at the treatment plant in Whitegate.

The company has warned that a long-term solution, which could involve the plant being connected to a more reliable and robust water source, is subject to funding approval and could take several years to deliver.

According to the Irish Water website, 18 boil notices were in effect at various water supplies across the country.