'Abject failure' sees 52 people ill after drinking unsafe water

The incidents have since been rectified and the water supply from the two plants is now safe to drink

Recent incidents which resulted in unsafe water entering the public drinking water supply and left members of the public hospitalised are “concerning and unacceptable”, Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien has said.

Mr O’Brien was commenting on a letter sent to him by the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] which identified “abject failures” in management oversight, operational control and responsiveness at two public drinking water treatment plants in recent weeks.

The failures resulted in unsafe water entering drinking water plants serving parts of Dublin City and Gorey, Co Wexford. In the case of Gorey, the HSE has detected at least 52 confirmed cases of illnesses associated with the incident, with a number of associated hospitalisations. 

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien is to meet with the managing director of Irish Water and the chief executives of Dublin City Council and Wexford County Council on Saturday. File picture

At the Ballymore Eustace plant, which serves approximately 877,000 consumers in the greater Dublin area, the EPA found unsafe drinking water was produced for a period of up to 10 hours between August 20 and 21 due to the loss of the Cryptosporidium treatment barrier compounded by inadequate disinfection. 

The incident was not notified by Irish Water to the EPA or to the HSE until September 1, "preventing a timely risk assessment of the impact on drinking water quality and to allow interventions to be taken that could have protected public health." 

At Gorey water treatment plant in Co Wexford, an incident which arose from a power failure and a chlorine pump failure resulted in water leaving the plant and entering the public supply without the appropriate level of disinfection between August 19 to August 24.

This incident was not notified to the EPA and the HSE until August 26. The HSE are now investigating a public health outbreak in the Gorey area.

Mr O’Brien said he found the failures identified by the EPA both “concerning and unacceptable”. 

“My officials have been in contact with the EPA and Irish Water on the issues raised and I have today spoken with the managing director of Irish Water as well as both the chief executives of Dublin City Council and Wexford County Council.

“My department has received reports from Irish Water and the EPA and I have now also asked the two local authorities for an immediate report on the incidents. It is essential that all parties work together to put in place effective corrective actions to ensure a safe and secure water supply.” 

The minister said he had requested that Irish Water audit its water treatment plant operational arrangements as “a matter of urgency” and that each local authority provide Irish Water with “open and uninhibited access to water treatment plants”. 

The minister is to meet with the managing director of Irish Water and the chief executives of Dublin City Council and Wexford County Council on Saturday to consider what further steps are required to ensure water supplies are safeguarded.

Late notifications

Irish Water general manager Eamon Gallen said in both incidents the company and its partners in the Local Authorities "fell short of the standards we set ourselves."

However, he said that in both instances "late notification to Irish Water of issues relating to the disinfection process at the plants, potentially put public health at risk."

Mr Gallen said Irish Water has engaged with all Local Authorities on "the need to report incidents to allow for timely risk assessments to protect public health." 

Irish Water's Eamon Gallen said late notification to Irish Water potentially put public health at risk.

Additional measures have been put in place in both Gorey and Ballymore Eustace to ensure public water supplies are safe to drink, he added.

In a statement, EPA Director General Laura Burke said is "unacceptable" that delays in notifying the EPA and HSE meant approximately 900,000 consumers were left "unaware of the risks they faced and did not have the opportunity to protect themselves."

"Immediate actions must be taken by Irish Water and the Local Authorities to ensure these failures do not arise again," she said.

Irish Water is currently engaging via the Workplace Relations Commission with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Local Authorities and Trade Unions as part of talks to create a Single Public Utility (SPU). 

Mr Gallen said the incidents underline the importance of creating a SPU where service delivery "is controlled and managed by one organisation."

Incidents at both plants have since been rectified and the water supply is now safe to drink.