Uisce Éireann responds to criticism of long Boil Water Notice imposed on part of south Tipperary

A Newcastle councillor has raised questions as to why a Boil Water Notice impacting nearly 3,800 consumers served by the Burncourt and Ballylooby water supplies had to remain in place for over three months particularly as the water treatment plant is just seven-years-old. 

The Boil Water Notice affecting consumers  served by the Burncourt Regional and Burncourt Ballylooby Public Water Supplies was put in place on July 27 and lifted on November 3.  

 Independent Cllr Máirín McGrath welcomed the lifting of the notice   but   said the cause of the issue was still very unclear and asked why it took so long to lift the notice and why the new water treatment plant at Glengarra, Burncourt experienced such difficulties for such a long period of time.

She said the plant, operated by Glan Aqua, supplies a large area across Ballylooby, Ballyporeen, Burncourt, Skeheenarinky, and parts of Cahir  and is only operational since 2017 following a €15.2m investment. 

Cllr McGrath also criticised Uisce Éireann for what she described as “poor” communications with the public in relation to the Boil Water Notice and its continuation.

“Many customers find the website hard to navigate and communication by Uisce Éireann is one thing that really needs addressing.

“However, the most concerning issue is that this plant is a very new treatment plant operated by Glan Aqua and it is worrying how or why this Boil Water Notice was in place and the operators were unable to identify the source of the problem for nearly five months." continued Cllr McGrath. 

"Serious questions need to be answered between Uisce Eireann and Glan Aqua to prevent a boil water notice of this scale happening at the new plant again and I think it is imperative that Tipperary County Council would engage with Uisce Éireann and Glan Aqua to get the answers which remain outstanding", sje added.

Uisce Éireann responded that the water for the Burncourt scheme comes from a river within an area of the Galtee mountains, which has steep, sloped hills, forestry and agricultural land. 

“The water is naturally flashy, which means the raw water can deteriorate in quality within a few hours following heavy rainfall. 

“The upgraded Burncourt Water Treatment Plant (WTP) was commissioned in May 2016. Despite  challenging raw water conditions, the Burncourt Water Treatment Plant has performed well over the last 7 years.”

Uisce Éireann explained during the summer significant changes in raw water quality were experienced which were outside the normally flashy water conditions.  

“These changes followed extremely wet weather  during last July. These changes in raw waterand were outside the range that the plant is capable of treating. 

“The plant could not guarantee consistently safe water and as a result a Boil Water Notice was put in place to protect public health.”

 Uisce Éireann said its dinking water experts worked to lift the notice as quickly and safely as possible. Remedial works were carried out to provide a robust solution to the issues impacting raw water quality. Following satisfactory water samples the Boil Water Notice was lifted on November 3 following consultation with the HSE.

The utility pointed out that its drinking water standards, are strict and include wide safety margins.