Irish Water to be told of hard water problem

Cavan County Council is to contact Irish Water (IW) to inform them of concerns regarding the level of lime in the Kingscourt water supply, writes Thomas Lyons. The matter was raised by Cllr Clifford Kelly at the May monthly meeting of the authority.

Cllr Kelly said that he had been approached by residents to say that there appeared to be an increase in the numbers of problems caused by lime in the water supply.
Cllr Kelly said that the lime problem was particularly affecting heating systems and household appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines in Kingscourt. He said that the problem was increasing the cost for consumers to replace damaged goods.
Last August, IW confirmed that work on the €3m plus upgrade of water infrastructure in Kingscourt was commencing. Veolia won the 27-month 'Design and Build’ contract, which includes a one-year Operations Phase, with IW to complete the upgrade, which also includes a new reservoir for the east county town.
Director of Services Ger Finn told the meeting that it was unusual that the problem would only have been presenting recently. He said that the source of supply in Kingscourt had not changed.
Mr Finn said that he would make the councillors’ concerns known to IW. The Director of Services told the meeting that there is a product that householders can buy that treats the water before it comes into the home to address the problem.
He said that householders could also contact IW with any supply and service queries.