• Over 99% of Ireland’s drinking water supplies fully compliant with standards
• Major projects completed include Vartry Water Treatment Plant and upgrade of Leixlip WTP, benefiting 717,000 people
• Over 42,000 lead connections replaced since 2017

The quality of Ireland’s drinking water continues to improve as a result of Irish Water’s progress in upgrading infrastructure, improving treatment processes, and enhancing monitoring of public supplies.

The latest Drinking Water Report published by the EPA shows that Ireland’s public water supplies are safe to drink, with 99.7% compliance with microbiological and chemical standards.  This represents a further improvement in drinking water quality and shows the benefits resulting from Irish Water’s ongoing high level of investment in water services nationwide.

In 2021, we invested over €460 million in Ireland’s water treatment plants and networks, with 12 water treatment plants built or upgraded and an additional 39 sites upgraded under the National Disinfection Programme. Key projects completed include new treatment plants in Vartry and Leixlip which together are benefitting over 700,000 people with cleaner, more secure drinking water supplies. As a result of this progress, the population on the EPA’s list of ‘at risk’ supplies reached its lowest ever level in 2021.

The EPA report in particular recognises that the ongoing improvements made by Irish Water in testing and monitoring drinking water supplies have played a key role in identifying risks to drinking water quality and protecting public health. Many of these risks existed for years but only came to light due to the more robust testing and sampling regimes that we have put in place. In some cases this has resulted in protective Boil Water Notices or other restrictions being introduced while the issues are addressed. This, according to the EPA, is a positive development which will result in a safer water supply for all customers.

Significant progress has also been made in developing systems to improve the management of incidents. In response to drinking water quality incidents in Gorey and Ballymore Eustace in 2021, the new National Operations Management Centre has been stood up on a 24/7 basis and so far 56 of Ireland’s largest drinking water plants, catering for a population of 2.85 million people, have been connected. This enables these plants to be monitored around the clock and action to be taken immediately when issues arise. Training has also been rolled out to all water services staff across the country to better equip them to manage or escalate incidents, so that we can protect and inform our customers.

Margaret Attridge of Irish Water said:

The EPA Drinking Water Report shows that the quality of Ireland’s drinking water supplies continues to improve. We have increased investment in our drinking water services year on year, and this is reaping big benefits for all our customers nationwide, giving them the assurance that, when they turn out their tap, they can enjoy clean, safe drinking water.

We recognise of course that challenges remain in some areas and we have prioritised our efforts in addressing these. In particular our enhanced focus on monitoring and testing supplies allows us to identify problems early and take action to fix them and, where appropriate, notify the public of any risks to their drinking water.

It will take a number of years and high levels of investment to bring our public water supply to the standard we all strive for but we are confident that we are on track to achieve this. Public health is our top priority and we will continue to work in partnership with our stakeholders, including the EPA, to ensure world class drinking water supplies for all our customers.

Notes

In 2021, Irish Water:

• Removed 37,940 customers from boil water notices that were in place for more than thirty days
• Removed 16 supplies, serving over 435,000 customers from the EPA’s Remedial Action List
• Removed and replaced circa 5,876 lead services connections.
• Performed over 185,971 individual tests on public drinking water supplies.
• Laid or rehabilitated 241km of watermain network.

Lead

Water leaving Irish Water’s treatment plants is lead free and our records show that there are no lead public water mains in Ireland. Minimising lead levels in drinking water is both the responsibility of water suppliers and property owners. Irish Water is responsible for any lead pipework in the public water distribution network. This is known as public-side lead. Irish Water 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. There are an estimated 180,000 lead service connections in Ireland and Irish Water has replaced 42,000 to the end of 2021. The use of lead as a plumbing material was commonplace in properties that were built up to and including the 1970s. All Lead plumbing, including fixtures and fittings in buildings and within property boundaries is the responsibility of the property owner. This is known as private-side lead. 

Under current funding arrangements Irish Water will be targeting the replacement of a total of 90,000 lead services by 2030. It is important to note however that replacement of public side lead in isolation, without also replacing private side lead, will not achieve a sufficient reduction of lead levels at the tap. 

There is a dedicated information page on lead in drinking water on our website at https://www.water.ie/water-supply/water-quality/lead-in-drinking-water/ 

Trihalomethanes (THMs)

Irish Water is taking action to remove the risk of elevated levels of THMs forming in all public water supplies. At the end of 2016 there were 71 supplies on the RAL for THMs, impacting 464,791 customers. As of the 30th of September 2022, there are 24 supplies serving 243,137 people on the RAL for THMs. When our monitoring programmes detect THM levels above the allowable limit (100µg/L), Irish Water notifies the Environmental Protection Agency and consults with the Health Service Executive (HSE) to ensure any potential risk to public health is fully risk assessed. To date, a Do Not Drink notice has not been imposed on any public water supply due to THM exceedances.

National Disinfection Programme

Irish Water is investing €65 million to upgrade and standardise disinfection systems in 864 water treatment plants across the country. To date, 316 sites have been upgraded including 39 during 2021, which represents a significant investment in one of the most important treatment barriers to protect public health. 

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