Works continue to improve water quality and supply in Cork City
Planned flushing works to take place in the Douglas area
Uisce Éireann continues to work to improve water quality and supply for homes and businesses in Cork City with a further programme of flushing works set to get underway tomorrow.
To address increased reports of discolouration in the Douglas area, an intense network flushing programme will be undertaken over two days on Thursday February 29th and Friday March 1st.
Flushing involves isolating small sections of the water network to clear any sediment from the old cast iron pipes to reduce instances of discolouration. Clearing the pipes in this manner can result in sediment carrying through to customers' taps resulting in increased instances of discoloured water in the short-term. Areas potentially impacted with this round of flushing include Half Moon Lane, Westview, Kilcolman Lawn, Palaceanne Lawn, Palaceanne Court, Hawthorn Villas, Glen View, Woodlawn and surrounding areas.
Uisce Éireann thanks customers for their patience as we continue to work to reduce instances of discolouration across Cork City, and regrets any inconvenience caused.
Protecting public health is a top priority for Uisce Éireann. Ongoing testing and analysis of the water supply continues, in conjunction with extensive monitoring across the city's water network to ensure the water is compliant with drinking water regulations and is safe to drink. The results of these ongoing tests are shared with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Health Service Executive (HSE).
Water Operations Lead for Uisce Éireann, Sean Lynch said: "Our goal is to minimise the instances of discolouration for the people of Cork City. Discolouration has existed in Cork City for some time and has been a feature of the Cork City network at low levels long before the establishment of Irish Water (now Uisce Éireann). We acknowledge that the frequency of discolouration reports has increased over the past 18 months, and this is not meeting the standard that customers expect. This can be attributed to a number of factors including the continued upgrading and investment in plants and pipework across the city and most recently an increase in leaks caused by bursts due to freezing weather. Given that approximately 50% of the water network in the city is old cast iron mains, it will take an investment of approximately half a billion euro over several investment cycles to replace the city's network."
In the short term, Uisce Éireann continues with works to proactively and reactively flush the network in targeted areas across Cork City where reports of discolouration have been received. Areas are prioritised based on customer feedback and reports received by our customer care team.
Uisce Éireann advises customers not to drink discoloured water. In the event of discolouration, running the tap for several minutes, we recommend up to 20 minutes, will usually restore water to a clear colour - the water is safe to drink once running clear. For more information and advice, please visit our Discoloured Water page.
If the issue remains unresolved, we encourage customers to contact us directly on the Uisce Éireann customer care helpline, open 24/7, on 1800 278 278.