Lead contamination found in 23 water supplies

Following last year’s introduction of the Drinking Water Regulations, the EPA has discovered that 99 percent of the 994 public water supplies comply with lead standards.

However, five areas of Galway city and council, five in Co Limerick, three in Co Donegal, two in Co Leitrim, two in north Tipperary, two in Co Kerry and one in Carlow, Longford, Wicklow and Cork, were found to have unacceptable levels of lead.

The mayor of Galway has expressed concern that the problem of lead could be widespread in the city after a family told him the drinking water had three times the safe limit.

In a bid to improve the quality of water the Department of the Environment approved funds to replace lead piping in the city’s water system.

However, it could still take two to five years to complete the replacement.