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• 99.7% of Ireland’s drinking water supplies fully compliant with standards
• Over €500m invested in Ireland’s drinking water infrastructure in 2022
• Major projects completed include Cork City’s Lee Road Water Treatment Plant
• Over 51,000 lead connections replaced since 2014

The latest Drinking Water Report published by the EPA shows that Ireland’s public drinking water supplies remain among the best in the world, with an impressive 99.7% compliance with microbiological and chemical standards. This is a result of the ongoing high level of investment and improved operational measures being implemented by Uisce Éireann, Ireland’s national water authority.

Tom Cuddy, Uisce Éireann’s Head of Asset Operations said:

“Uisce Éireann operates over 700 water treatment plants across Ireland and we are committed to delivering transformative water services which enable communities to thrive.

In 2022, we invested over €500 million in our water treatment plants and networks, with a number of new water treatment plants built or significantly upgraded and an additional 30 sites enhanced under the National Disinfection Programme. Key projects completed include a new treatment plant in Cork City benefitting over 97,000 people with a cleaner, more secure drinking water supply.  We have also built or upgraded water treatment plants in Skibbereen (Cork), Mountain Stage and Ballyheigue (Kerry), Ballymagroarty (Donegal), Ballymahon (Longford) and Athlone (Westmeath). In addition, 2022 saw the progression of another significant upgrade of the Leixlip Water Treatment Plant which is benefitting over 600,000 customers in Dublin with improved drinking water quality.

We have an ambitious capital investment programme, through which we will continue to improve the safety and resilience of Ireland’s drinking water supplies in the years to come.”

The EPA report in particular recognises the ongoing improvements made by Uisce Éireann in testing, monitoring and assessing water supplies and the key role this has played in identifying risks to drinking water quality, ensuring a safer water supply for all. Many of these risks came to light due to the more robust testing, sampling and operational control measures put in place. In some cases, this has resulted in temporary Boil Water Notices or other restrictions being introduced to protect public health while the problems are addressed. Over two-thirds of the Boil Water Notices imposed in 2022 were dealt with and rescinded within 30 days.

Uisce Éireann also continues to make progress in addressing known risks to water supplies which are on the EPA’s Remedial Action List. In 2022, 11 more supplies were removed from the list following the completion of remedial actions. For those supplies that remain on the list, Uisce Éireann is progressing plans to address any underlying issues and ensure resilient water supplies for the communities they serve.

Tom Cuddy added:

“The EPA Drinking Water Report shows that the resilience and security 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 our customers and communities nationwide, giving them the assurance that, when they turn on their taps, they can enjoy clean, safe drinking water.

Public health is our top priority, and we will continue to invest in our infrastructure and implement operational improvement measures to deliver world class drinking water supplies for all our customers. Through initiatives such as our national disinfection programme, the rollout of the Drinking Water Safety Plan approach, and our enhanced testing and monitoring of treatment plants, we have made enormous strides in ensuring more secure and resilient supplies.

We recognise that challenges remain in addressing all the issues associated with our ageing water infrastructure. It will take a number of years and sustained high levels of investment to address all these legacy issues, but we are confident that our ambitious capital investment programme will enable us to transform Ireland’s water services and ensure a safe, sustainable, secure and reliable drinking water supply for everyone now and into the future.”

Detailed information on water quality in all public water supplies is available on the Uisce Éireann website, www.water.ie. 

Notes:

In 2022, Uisce Éireann:

• Removed 18,500 customers from boil water notices that were in place for more than thirty days
• Removed 11 supplies, serving over 130,000 customers from the EPA’s Remedial Action List
• Removed and replaced circa 10,000 lead services connections.
• Laid or rehabilitated 315km of watermain network.

Trihalomethanes (THMs)

Trihalomethanes (THMs for short) are chemicals which are formed by the reaction of naturally occurring dissolved organic material in the water and chlorine, which is used for disinfection purposes. Chlorination is an essential step in the production process to ensure harmful bacteria are eliminated from your drinking water. The clear advice from the HSE in relation to THMs and drinking water is that the “benefits of using chlorine to treat our drinking water are much greater than any possible health risk from THMs”. This is also the position of the World Health Organisation (WHO) which states that “…adequate disinfection should never be compromised to control THMs”.

Uisce Éireann 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 end of 2022, there were 23 supplies serving 235,005 on the RAL for elevated levels of THMs above the standard in the Drinking Water Regulations. When our monitoring programmes detect THM levels above the allowable limit (100µg/L), Uisce Éireann 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.

Lead

Water leaving Uisce Éireann’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. Uisce Éireann is responsible for any lead pipework in the public water distribution network. This is known as public-side lead. Uisce Éireann 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. Uisce Éireann has replaced over 51,000 lead connections to the end of 2022. 

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. 

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. 

The Government has recently extended the eligibility criteria for the domestic lead pipe replacement grant to make it accessible to more people – for information on this see https://www.gov.ie/en/service/6e885-domestic-lead-remediation-grant-scheme/?referrer=http://www.gov.ie/leadpipes/ –

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/ 

Remedial Action List

In 2022, Uisce Éireann continued to work to improve water quality, removing 11 water supplies serving 130,034 people from the EPA’s Remedial Action List. This list is a record of the public water supplies known to be at risk and where the EPA is requiring Uisce Éireann to take corrective action. 

During the year, the EPA added additional schemes to the list. Issues were identified at these supplies either as a result of an EPA audit or in some cases due to the enhanced monitoring of our water treatment plants. At the end of 2022, there were 58 ‘at risk’ schemes on the list, supplying a population of circa 480,000. Over 40% of that population relates to two supplies that were added to the list in 2022, Limerick city and the Barrow supply. 

By the end of 2023, Uisce Éireann plans to have completed works at 7 schemes that together serve a population of circa 20,000 people. Furthermore, it is expected that supplies to Limerick city and Kilkenny city, serving a population of over 130,000, will be remediated by 2024.

National Disinfection Programme

Uisce Éireann is investing €65 million to upgrade and standardise disinfection systems in our water treatment plants across the country. To date, 305 sites have been upgraded including 30 during 2022, which represents a significant investment in one of the most important treatment barriers to protect public health. 

EPA audits of supplies that received an upgrade under Uisce Éireann’s Disinfection Programme confirmed the systems were satisfactorily upgraded.