Irish Examiner View: Water services stretched as users suffer

For seven years the 9,500 householders who get their water from the Whitegate water supply scheme in East Cork have either had to boil the water coming from their taps or buy bottled water.

Anyone paying attention to the ongoing issues in the UK with vital water utilities such as Thames Water — the UK’s biggest water company, which has a £14bn (€16.3bn) debt pile and a leadership crisis after the unexpected resignation of its chief executive — might think it is an appalling situation in this day and age.

With the supply to some 15m customers under threat amid perceived mismanagement, suboptimal performance, exposed balance sheet, a crisis with sewage outflows, and accusations of asset stripping, the crisis at Thames Water seems almost unthinkable in a modern “first world” country.