A total of 52 treatment plants supplying drinking water to 1.1 million people – over a fifth of the Republic’s population – “are vulnerable to failure”, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has warned. The number of people threatened by poor water supplies – and on the EPA remedial action list – has doubled largely due to difficulties at Leixlip water treatment plant, following two boil water notices over an extended period last year that affected more than 650,000 people. “While progress is being made, the multiple failures at the Leixlip water treatment plant last year highlight the serious lack of resilience in our water supplies,” EPA director general Laura Burke said. Delays in delivering public water improvements puts water quality and the public’s health at risk,” Ms Burke said. “Growing uncertainty in Irish Water’s planning and delivery of critical improvements to water treatment plants is undermining confidence in the security of supply of safe drinking water.”

Source: The Irish Times July 06, 2020 22:52 UTC