No chemical risk to Kildare's water supply
Uisce Éireann plans to deal 'with any outstanding issues'
The public water supply in County Kildare is unaffected by the presence of chemical elements.
The European Court of Justice said last week that Ireland had not met its obligations under a European union directive concerning drinking water. No Kildare supplies were listed in the judgement.
It pointed to the presence of trihalomethanes (THMs) in the public supply.
These are chemical compounds regularly found in drinking water containing chlorine, which ironically, is added to make the water safe for the community.
THMs are known to damage the environment and human health.
The case was taken by the European Commission and it alleged there was a failure to ensure that the presence of TMHs in the supply did not exceed the minimum values in the supply.
RTE News reported that the EC said Ireland had failed to adopt the necessary measures to be in compliance with the directive relating to the concentration of TMHs and had failed to restore the quality of drinking water as quickly as possible.
The Irish authorities were first told they were not in compliance in 2015.
Uisce Eireann said it has prioritised investment in the schemes addressed by the court and of an original 74 supplies referred to in the letter, all but five have now been addressed.
UE also said that plans are in place to deal with the outstanding issues.
It also defended chlorination as an essential step in the production process to ensure harmful bacteria are eliminated from drinking water.
It added that this is also the position of the World Health Organisation which states that “adequate disinfection should never be compromised to control TMHs.”
UE said that when THM levels above the allowable limit are detected as part of the monitoring process, the Environmental Protection Agency and the HSE are consulted to ensure any potential risk is fully assessed.
It added that to date a “do not drink” notice has not been imposed on any public water supply “due to THM exceedances.”