Cork TDs call for meeting over ongoing discoloured drinking water issues

CORK city TDs have spoken out about the ongoing issue of discoloured water in the drinking supply, and are calling for a public meeting with Uisce Éireann.

The intervention comes as several areas across the city have been affected by ongoing instances of discoloured water since July 2022, when the then Irish Water opened its new Lee Rd water treatment plant.

Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould said he was receiving complaints on a daily basis from constituents whose water was “undrinkable”.

“There was millions spent on the brand new Lee Rd plant, and the water is worse now than it ever has been,” the northside TD said.

“I am calling on Irish Water to hold a public meeting and explain to people what is happening, because people have lost all faith in Irish Water.”

Fine Gael’s Colm Burke said a public meeting was needed as “no detailed explanation has been furnished by Uisce Éireann”.

“There was an expectation that discolouration would be short-term, [but] it has now dragged out for a long period of time without full clarification being provided,” he said.

Fianna Fáil’s Pádraig O’Sullivan said a public meeting was needed so Uisce Éireann might offer clarity.

“I have constituents forced to buy water because they can’t trust what’s coming out of their taps, and that is disgraceful,” said Mr O’Sullivan.

Socialist TD Mick Barry said the issue with water discolouration had gone on far too long. “Irish Water are treating the people of Cork very poorly,” he said.

Issues with water discolouration have occurred predominantly, but not exclusively, on the city’s northside.

Backing calls for a public meeting, Cork South Central Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire said the people of Cork deserved more respect than they had received to date.

In total, five of the city’s eight TDs called for a public meeting with Uisce Éireann.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin, Finance Minister Michael McGrath, and Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney are all based in Cork South Central and were asked for a comment.

As previously reported in The Echo, there was a sharp rise in complaints about water quality across the city immediately after the Lee Rd facility opened in July 2022.

In October 2022, following a series of questions submitted by The Echo, Irish Water itted that an adjustment of the chemicals used in water preparation had caused rusty sediment to be stripped from the inside of Cork city’s century-old water mains — resulting in discoloured water in homes across town.

Amongst correspondence released last year under Freedom of Information legislation to TD Mick Barry was an email from Irish Water — dated August 22, 2022 — informing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of an increase in complaints of discoloured water in Cork city.

The email noted that water from the new Lee Rd plant had entered the supply on July 29, 2022, and the mail added: “There is the potential that process changes, particularly the change in the pH corrective chemical in use — ie from lime to caustic — may be contributing to the problem and causing the water to become more corrosive.”

Uisce Éireann insists that discoloured water does not pose a health risk, but has warned people not to drink it — something that Mr Gould says is simply not good enough.

“We were told the water is fine, as long as it runs clear, but we were ed by people who are blind or visually impaired, and older people who have definitely drank off-colour water,” he said.

At the last meeting of Cork City Council — following sustained criticism of the utility company by councillors — Green Party councillor Dan Boyle, who chairs the Environment and Water Strategic Policy Committee, said he would call Uisce Éireann before the committee in the new year.

In December, the EPA said it has “an open investigation file” on discoloured water in the city.

In a statement, Uisce Éireann said there “are approximately 600km of water mains in Cork city, 50% to 60% of which are made from cast iron and approximately 100 years old.

“In old cast iron mains, sediment can become dislodged during repair or upgrade works and can occasionally be carried through to customers’ taps, leading to the water to appear brown or orange.”

The company said testing and analysis of the water supply was ongoing, to ensure water was compliant with drinking water regulations, and results were shared with both the EPA and the HSE.

Uisce Éireann advised people not to drink discoloured water, and to run the tap for several minutes. They said that if the water does not run clear, call 1800 278 278.

Uisce Éireann was asked for comment.