Water contamination improvements noted

Improvements have been noted in the latest round of testing by Waterford City Council into the amount of lead contamination in the public water supply.


The council took steps to measure the amount of acidity and alkalinity in the supply, with the latest testing results showing lead levels are falling.

However, it is currently unknown if the reduced lead levels will be sustained over time, meaning that households affected should still take precautions.

These include discarding a sink full of water before consuming any water from a tap or using bottled water labelled as being ‘natural mineral water’.

Colette Byrne, director of services at Waterford City Council, said: “We are continuing to investigate the cause of the breaches of the lead/water limit of 25 microgrammes per litre.

“Over 83 per cent of the most recent tests we have conducted showed lead levels below the current limit, with this figure increasing to 100 per cent after water was allowed run off for five minutes. Our priority now is to see if this improvement is maintained over time.”

Meanwhile, it has been suggested that the continuing water shortage in Dublin could be solved by creating a reservoir, which can be used a depot for water collected from the Lough Derg.

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