Water quality concerns highlighted in Kingscourt

Seamus Enright

A Kingscourt mother has “lost count” of how much she has spent on bottled water due to “dirt particles” in her local water supply.
Sinead Platt says minute dark-coloured flecks first began appearing in water from her tap almost two months ago. She also contends that lime content in the supply has bunged up her system so much that she is now unable to flush the toilet properly.
“It's ridiculous in this day and age that this sort of thing is happening,” said the mum of five, whose youngest is just eight months.
“Our toilets won't fill up now and the shower started going funny, getting blocked up. We've replaced the head twice now but the issues keep coming back. When I reported to Irish Water about the black specks, they told me it was still perfectly safe to drink. I asked them if it was the same with water in their tap would they drink it?”
Sinead initially thought her home might be the only one affected until she messaged her neighbours on a localised social media group and was stunned by the number reporting similar issues with their supply also.
Sinead's frustrations, and those elsewhere in the community, are amplified given that Irish Water, and formerly Cavan County Council, have just completed a €3M plus overhaul of water supply services in the east county town.
That investment was billed as providing a modern water treatment plant capable of serving the existing and future residential and commercial needs of Kingscourt and the surrounding rural areas.
The works were said to ensure a “safe and sustainable” water supply for approximately 3,200 people, including supply to Ballinaclose in neighbouring Co Meath.
Sinead has received two visits to her home from representatives of Irish Water/Cavan County Council since first registering her complaint. As she lives on a hill, one representative surmised the specks had taken time to work their way through the system. Samples of water taken all returned a high level of cleanliness, with the presence of chlorine ensuring bacteria is eliminated.
Sinead however remains reticent to allow her children drink water containing “numerous” black particles of unknown origin.
“It's every day! To get a cup of water into your kettle you have to run your water with a white cup up beside the tap to make sure there are no black particles in the water. Even if you're boiling your vegetables right now, I'm not going to put water from the tap in on them. We're been using bottled water for that or for the kids to drink. That's what we have to do right now,” Sinead adds.

 

'Inundated'
Her ire is shared by Fianna Fáil's Clifford Kelly. The Kingscourt county councillor has been “inundated” with locals complaining about water quality and has taken to social media to encourage those affected to contact Irish Water directly to registered their disquiet.
“Unfortunately the quality of our water supply still remains degraded, sometimes making it unfit for human consumption and basic household washing duties, due to dirt particles and contamination,” he said, telling the Celt how household appliances in some homes, from kettles to dishwashers and washing machines, have all but “packed up”.
Cllr Kelly said: “Along with the black particles, there is a serious problem with the amount of lime in the water. The investment by Irish Water was welcomed at the time but right now things have never been so bad. If it's a case that water needs to be filtered, then get it done. I've been told it could be the pressure of the water from the new plant on the old pipework but, whatever the reason, it's terribly upsetting and a lot of people are not happy.”
Reacting to the Kingscourt community concerns, a spokesperson for Irish Water stated: “IW has invested over €3 million in the Kingscourt Water Supply Scheme, which involved building a new water treatment plant. While the works are complete the plant is still going through a process proving phase. Treated water from the plant is being produced to a very high standard and all water meets all statutory regulations and is safe to drink.”
Assuring the safety of the water, the spokesperson for semi-State utility added: “Because the raw water is very clean to start with, there are occasions when chlorine, which is added to the water to disinfect it, is not diminishing as the water circulates throughout the network. Because of this, manganese is produced, which looks like small dark flecks in the water. This does not pose a public health issue and the water is still safe to drink."

If any member of the public is experiencing a problem with their water quality they can contact the Irish Water customer care helpline on 1850-278-278.