Contaminated water - Stats present a terrifying picture

In THE past two years a tenth of all drinking water in this country has been contaminated with E-coli or the cryptosporidium parasite, according to a report published today by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

About 8% of all public water supplies have been contaminated with human or animal waste.

According to the report titled The Provision and Quality of Drinking Water in Ireland 2006-2007, this country has the highest rate of cryptosporidiosis in Europe. A third of the country’s private water supplies are contaminated, a truly horrifying figure. At least 64 supplies to 135,000 people are at risk of a cryptosporidiosis outbreak similar to what happened in Galway last year.