Nothing dangerous was found in the water in Kilkenny – despite 10,000 homes and businesses being put on Boil Water Notices.
4,300 customers served on the Bennettsbridge Public Water Supply (which includes Stoneyford, Kells, Knocktopher, Ballyhale) as well as 3,300 in the wider Castlecomer area and a further 1,280 in Ballyragget have all been impacted since the weekend and will likely remain so until next week at the earliest. (See if you’re affected here).
Irish Water says it can’t guarantee the safety of supplies from the public schemes in Bennettsbridge, Castlecomer and Ballyragget.
Spokesperson James O’Toole says they have very high safety standards so people’s health isn’t put at risk.
And he told our Sue Nunn on last evening’s The Way It is that the recent awful weather means the water going into the treatment plants has been so dirty that older sites like these can’t handle it.
Hear the conversation in full here:
Meanwhile, Bennettsbridge Cllr Patrick O’Neill says better communication from Irish Water to its consumers is vital, noting; “People just get a bit sick and tired of it, what can you do, I know there is an investment plan and that’s down the line but at the moment, people will get on with things if they have notification and advance notification”.
And Castlecomer Cllr John Brennan says Irish needs to take urgent action to upgrade the treatment plants, telling KCLR “We need action and we need it fast and I’ve been raising this for a long number of years and I think the progress is too slow to be honest, Irish Water needs to get their act together now and try invest into the region”.
