Boil water notice rolls on in Buncrana where 4,000 people are affected

Uisce Éireann has offered no timeframe for when the boil water notice placed on thousands of homes and businesses in Buncrana on 2 January will be lifted.
In its first update since the notice was imposed six days earlier, the water utility said only that it is “continuing efforts” to resolve the issue.
In the meantime, around 4,000 consumers in Buncrana have been advised to continue boiling their tap water before drinking or using it for food preparation.
“Uisce Éireann’s primary focus is and always will be the protection of public health,” the company said in a statement issued on Wednesday. “Monitoring of the supply is under way this week, and these results will be kept under review and shared with the HSE as we continue to liaise with them.”
However, no indication was given as to when the boil water notice might be lifted.
Discoloured water was first reported by consumers on New Year’s Day, with Uisce Éireann later confirming that a mechanical issue at the Slavery water treatment plant, outside Buncrana, was the cause.
It is the second mechanical fault to affect the Slavery plant in just seven weeks.
In November, a separate fault resulted in widespread outages and low water pressure, requiring water tankers to be deployed to supply affected areas. A boil water notice was not issued on that occasion, suggesting the current issue differs in nature from the earlier incident.

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The lack of detailed information provided by Uisce Éireann during the current boil water notice has been criticised by local Redress Party councillor Joy Beard who described the communication from the company as an “absolute nightmare”.
Customers can check if their property is affected by visiting water.ie and entering their Eircode, or by calling the Uisce Éireann customer care helpline on 1800 278 278, which is open 24 hours a day.
For those affected, Uisce Éireann has advised that water must be boiled for the following uses:

*Drinking

*Drinks made with water

*Brushing teeth

*Making ice (existing ice and filtered water in fridges should be discarded; ice should be made using cooled boiled water)

*Preparing foods that will not be cooked, such as salads

Water may be used for personal hygiene, bathing and flushing toilets, but should not be used for brushing teeth or gargling.