Irish Water came under fire at this month’s meeting of Tipperary Council.
A number of councillors expressed their concerns about Irish Water and how they notify the public about boil water notices, the potential health implications and the length of time the notices are lasting.
A number of Tipperary’s elected representatives have said Irish Water’s communication for boil water notices needs to be more efficient.
Cllr Declan Burgess told this month’s meeting of the Local Authority that some customers living on the Galtee water supply continued to consume water after a boil water notice was put in place as they were not informed of the notice for a number of days, and this could’ve impacted on the health of residents.
The Cashel councillor said he was concerned about Tipperary’s water infrastructure as temperatures change and pushed for households and businesses to be contacted directly when a notice is being issued.
Cllr Kevin O’Meara also said that delays were caused in the Carrick-on-Suir and Fethard areas as Irish Water needed to test the water for three consecutive days before lifting a notice and, presently, they do not test for clear water over the weekend – this is due being understaffed.
The Mullinahone councillor expressed frustration as the most recent water notice in the area had an additional five days added to it when Irish Water began testing midweek and had to begin the testing process from the start again the following Monday.
Cllr Sean Ryan from Littleton agreed with Declan Burgess that communication needs to be better and pushed for a timeframe for the water conservation programme in light of water outages.
The expected starting timeframe for the water conservation – which will see villages like Littleton and Two-Mile Borris connected to a new water supply – is 2023 – if not longer, according to senior engineer Denis Holland.
