Low uptake in scheme that aims to combat toxic lead in water pipes

D0792R Water is floating from a tap in the kitchen

Toxic lead piping is still used in many Irish homes and businesses contaminating water but a 100% grant to replace lead piping has had very poor take-up.

The World Health Organization said that there are no safe levels of lead in drinking water. 

Lead has been linked to cancer, it can affect the development of a child’s brain, and it can be toxic even in low doses, especially for infants and young children.

Tom Cuddy, head of Uisce Éireann, the State water utility formerly known as Irish Water, said that lead was the standard material used for plumbing up to and during the 1970s.

And although no lead comes from Ireland’s public water supply, once it passes through private plumbing systems, the toxic metal is in water coming out of taps in many households and businesses.

Water leaving Uisce Éireann’s treatment plants is lead-free, the water utility said. 

Uisce Éireann is responsible for any lead pipework in the public water distribution network and is currently working on the replacement of all known public side lead, which in most cases are short segments of pipe called service connections which run from the mains to the property boundary. 

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Uisce Éireann has replaced over 51,000 lead connections to the end of 2022.

"We have been replacing the public side, we’ve replaced 50,000 connections. In total, we calculate there were 180,000 in the country," he said. 

But many buildings still have lead piping which must be replaced by the homeowner as it is on private property, Mr Cuddy said.

A 100% grant of up to €5,000 is available through all local authorities. It is not means tested and was recently streamlined to make it easier for homeowners to access, he said.

“All the lead in people’s water comes from their own plumbing and from the service pipe from the street in through their garden and into their house.

“The word ‘plumbing’ comes from the Latin for lead. The chemical symbol for lead is ‘pb’. So plumbing since ancient times has been done with lead. 

Lead is a very workable metal. You can bend it quite easily and it’s quite resilient. Up until the 1970s lead was the material of choice for plumbing in all houses, all buildings and all service connections.

“There’s no lead that we extract from the rivers, lakes or boreholes, there’s no lead in our water mains. Even our older water mains use cast iron but our newer ones are more plastic materials. 

"There’s no lead in the treatment process either. So the water that comes from the treatment plant all the way from the reservoir up your street through the pipe, there’s no lead in it. 

"Then at your tap there’s lead in the water in many houses.

“Certainly any houses that are 1970s or earlier it’s more than likely that a lot of plumbing and the pipe coming in is still lead."

He encouraged people to avail of the lead pipe replacement grant.

"It’s a huge opportunity for people, but it has not been taken up that much."

Cork County Council had had no applications for the lead pipe replacement scheme in the past five years.

Cork City Council said that it has had nine applications through the scheme in 2022. This year, it’s had 13 applications and “a marked increase in inquiries.” 

Waterford City and County Council received nine applications since the scheme was introduced for grants payable under the Domestic Lead Remediation (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2016. One application has been received in 2023.

Uisce Éireann has replaced over 51,000 lead connections to the end of 2022. Picture: Larry Cummins

Within the Comeragh and Dungarvan/Lismore Areas, there are approximately 500 premises which still have internal lead service pipes, Waterford County Council said.

“Uisce Éireann is currently replacing public-side lead service pipes in the Metropolitan Area and will be able to supply application numbers for that particular area.” 

Uisce Éireann is now "doing minimal chemical dosing" to lessen the lead dissolved in tap water by adding orthophosphate to some water supplies.

"Orthophosphate is a safe, food-grade additive that is added to water at the treatment plant and which coats the inside of water pipes, preventing the absorption of lead by water," a statement from Uisce Éireann said.

Orthophosphate treatment is being used at six plants nationwide - Limerick, Lough Talt, Swinford, Waterford, Letterkenny and Crolly (Donegal), and it is being expanded to other sites.

Mr Cuddy recommended checking the pipe leading to your cold tap under the kitchen sink. If that is a dull, grey/black metal which is a shiny silver when scratched with a knife, then it is likely lead.

And if people have lead pipes, they should be replaced. But in the meantime, he advised flushing out the cold tap for five minutes if it has not been used for some time, like if the residents have been away on holidays. 

"The longer the water has been sitting in the pipe, the more lead accumulation," he said. 

And acidic water, generally found on higher ground, dissolves more lead than 'hard' water, he said.