Water supplies of almost 13,000 people in Waterford at risk of disruption

Over 12,717 people in Waterford are dependent on water supplies that have been described as "at-risk" to serious disruptions by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In a new report by the EPA, they revealed 45 public water supplies which service over 497,000 people across the country are considered "at-risk." One of these supply networks was in Dungarvan where over 12,717 people are reliant on that one network.

The Drinking Water Quality in Public Supplies Report 2024 found that over 99.8% of the samples from public water supplies complied with bacterial and chemical limits, meaning that public water is safe to drink. However, it did state that many supplies "lack robust treatment to guarantee their long-term resilience."

The EPA urged that these "at-risk" supplies must be improved and safeguarded by Uisce Éireann to protect public health. 

Some of the other counties impacted by these supplies and on the Remedial Action List at the end of 2024 include Carlow, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Limerick, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Roscommon, Tipperary and Wexford.

Uisce Éireann have since welcomed the report's findings, saying that the Remedial Action List was down in 2024 from 57 at-risk water supplies in 2023 to 45 last year.

READ NEXT: 'A transformative impact' - Construction work starts on major projects at SETU in Waterford

Other key points in this report include that pesticide limits were exceeded in 23 supplies - which was the same as in 2023. E. coli bacteria was also detected in five supplies through regulatory monitoring. 

The report found that positive progress has been made in areas such as disinfection and completion of risk assessments, but progress on removing lead from the supply network remains very slow.

Commenting on lead in drinking water, EPA Programme Manager, Noel Byrne said: "Lead in our drinking water is a cumulative risk to human health and must be removed from our supply network. The risk is greatest for young children, infants and babies in the womb. Despite Ireland having a National Lead Strategy in place since 2015, progress to date has been far too slow."