Uisce Éireann receives over 1,600 calls about discoloured water in Cork City 

The utility says it has been carrying out increased sampling of customers taps throughout the Cork network and at the Lee Road Water Treatment Plant

Protest at Uisce Éireann's offices on Eglinton Street, Cork last month to highlight the ongoing difficulties members of the public are having with poor water quality. Picture: Larry Cummins

Uisce Éireann says its water quality taskforce is “progressing plans” to address water discolouration issues which have plagued homes and businesses across parts Cork City in recent months.

Since the commissioning of the new €40m water treatment plant on the Lee Road in July 2022, hundreds of homes and businesses Cork have reported persistent discolouration of their water supply.

In 2023, the utility’s customer care team received more than 1,600 calls regarding water discolouration in Cork — an average of more than four per day.

In December of last year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opened a "Compliance Plan" on the matter, on foot of a parametric incident reported to it by Uisce Éireann.

In January, officials from Uisce Éireann were grilled by Cork city councillors over the causes of the discolouration, and how the problem might be fixed.

At the time, the utility said the discoloured water was caused by excess manganese from the inside the city’s old, cast-iron water mains, some of which are more than a century old. Councillors were also told an investment of at least €500m would be required to fully replace affected pipes.

On Monday, Uisce Éireann’s water quality taskforce outlined the steps it had taken to address the use.

It said it had been carrying out increased sampling of customers' taps throughout the Cork network and at the Lee Road Water Treatment Plant, and this sampling would increase further in the coming weeks and months. 

It also said water mains have been replaced on Edward Walsh Road, and would soon be replaced on Popham’s Road. Mains replacement work is also planned for the South Quays, Sydney Park, and Dublin Hill, according to the utility.

The utility said “intensified flushing” works, involving the installation of extra hydrants in certain areas to improve "sediment removal", were also under way.

These works were being carried out at night to "allow the network time to return to normal before the morning demand starts”. 

From Monday, these works have been expanded to the areas of Rathmore Lawn, Cross Douglas Road, Douglas Road, Loreto Park, Rosebank, Ashdale Park, Ballincurrig Park, Cherry Drive, Whitehorn, Baltimore Lawn, Knockrea Park, Greenhills Court, Glencurrig, Ashdene, Alderwood and surrounding areas.

Uisce Éireann also said its process specialists were “continuing to review the operational performance of the Lee Road Water Treatment plant, investigating additional options to further improve water services in Cork City".

It also said it had been engaging with affected customers to “provide information regarding ongoing actions and to gather additional information as to the customer’s experience which will assist in any further investigations required”. 

Uisce Éireann continues to advise customers not to drink discoloured water.

In the event of discolouration, the tap should be left running for several minutes until clear water is restored — up to 20, if necessary. The water is safe to drink once it is running clear.

If discolouration persists for longer than this amount of time, Uisce Éireann said customers should contact it directly.