A number of ‘Boil Water Notices’ remain in effect today across several counties as concerns are raised about the increase in reports.
A study carried out by the Water Advisory Body showed that 7,029 people were on boil water notices at the end of 2021 which is an increase of 1,344 people compared to the previous quarter.
As well as this, 11 of the 14 boil water notices (serving 2,152 people) were in place for more than 30 days.
The findings also highlighted a stark increase in the number of water supplies that are on the Remedial Action List.
There are now 455,097 consumers being served by 55 “at risk” supplies, an increase of 11,282 consumers recorded at the end of 2021.
This corresponds with the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent statement that the progress made during 2020 continues to be reversed during 2021.
The WAB says it is concerned at the sharp increase in the number of people on boil water since the previous quarter and the length of time that these notices were in place
Compliance with microbiological standards generally is high, remaining over 99% in the period 2014-2020.
However, it does note that there were three instances in 2020 that failed to meet the standards of E.coli.
In a statement, the company said: “The WAB will continue to monitor the success of Irish Water in its attempt in decreasing the number of public water supplies that do not comply with the microbiological standards.”
