Almost 500,000 people relying on 'at-risk' water supplies across country, warns new report

Forty-five public water supplies that service over 497,000 people across the country have been described as "at-risk" in a new report published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The Drinking Water Quality in Public Supplies Report 2024 found that over 99.8% of the samples from public water supplies complied with bacterial and chemical limits, meaning that public water is safe to drink. However, it did state that many supplies "lack robust treatment to guarantee their long-term resilience."

The EPA urged that these "at-risk" supplies must be improved and safeguarded by Uisce Éireann to protect public health. 

Some of the counties impacted by these supplies and on the Remedial Action List at the end of 2024 include Carlow, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Limerick, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Roscommon, Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford.

READ NEXT: UPDATE: Four men arrested following cocaine bust of over €30m in county Cork

Other key points in this report include that pesticide limits were exceeded in 23 supplies - which was the same as in 2023. E. coli bacteria was also detected in five supplies through regulatory monitoring. 

The report found that positive progress has been made in areas such as disinfection and completion of risk assessments, but progress on removing lead from the supply network remains very slow.

Commenting on lead in drinking water, EPA Programme Manager, Noel Byrne said: "Lead in our drinking water is a cumulative risk to human health and must be removed from our supply network. The risk is greatest for young children, infants and babies in the womb. Despite Ireland having a National Lead Strategy in place since 2015, progress to date has been far too slow."