Works prioristised to address discolouration in parts of Cork city

Uisce Éireann acknowledges the impact of ongoing discolouration issues for customers in parts of Cork City and we are prioritising works at the moment to address these. 

The water leaving the treatment plant is rigorously tested to ensure it complies with the drinking water standards, and that the water is safe to drink once running clear. The treatment process used by Uisce Éireann is fully in line with water treatment standards around the country and across the world.

There has been no recent change to the process for treating the water at the Lee Road Water Treatment Plant. The recent spike in discolouration issues is most likely linked to the commissioning of a new pumping setup for filling the reservoirs. Increased flows resulted in some sediment becoming dislodged from the pipes supplying the reservoirs, which have led to the discolouration issues in the network. To address this, adjustments have been made to the pumping rates to prevent the dislodging of any further sediment from the pipes supplying the reservoirs.

In addition, Uisce Éireann crews are carrying out planned network flushing, which involves systematically flushing section by section of the network and clearing the watermains of any sediment from old cast iron pipes. While these works are carried out customers in some areas may continue to experience intermittent discolouration. However we expect that as a result of these actions, overall incidents of discolouration should decrease.

All customer complaints are logged and we would encourage the public to continue to report any discolouration issues to Uisce Éireann so that we can identify and resolve these issues throughout the network.

Customers can visit the Uisce Éireann website, www.water.ie, for details of flushing times and locations and to look out for flushing signs in your area when flushing is ongoing. 

Brian O'Leary, Uisce Éireann's Regional Operations Manager, said: "We acknowledge there have been an increase in discolouration complaints and apologise for any inconvenience to customers as a result. The Cork City Water Quality Working Group, with expert representatives and engineers from Uisce Éireann and Cork City Council, continues to meet regularly and monitor the situation with flushing of the network being carried out in prioritised areas of the city. Areas are prioritised based on customer feedback and reports received by our customer care team.

"Flushing was carried out for over 3 weeks in the Mayfield area in October and November. Flushing is currently ongoing in Farranree and Gurranabraher in response to customer reported issues. Once complete, flushing will continue into other areas based on the reported issues. Customers will see increased discoloration while flushing is ongoing as the sediment is be cleared from the pipework. We would ask that customers get in touch with us at 1800 278 278 to report discolouration issue so that we can investigation and address them." 

To improve water supply in Cork City, Uisce Éireann has invested in excess of €100 million in infrastructure improvement across a number of projects including the Cork City Water Supply Scheme, which is nearing completion, the replacement of the Churchfield Reservoir roof, the upgrade of Glashaboy Water Treatment Plant, and the new Lee Road Water Treatment Plant.  

These works have significantly modernised and improved the overall water supply infrastructure in the city, ensuring a safe, secure and reliable water supply to homes and businesses. 

The Uisce Éireann customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 or via Twitter @IWCare. 

Uisce Éireann continues to advise customers not to drink discoloured water. Please see https://www.water.ie/help/water-quality/discoloured-water/