The Environmental Protection Agency is reassuring people in West Clare that action is being taken to address high levels of an environmental pollutant in the water supply.
Samples from public group schemes in Killimer, Seafield, Querrin, Clohanes, Leitrim/Shyan, all served by the West Clare supply continued to have trihalomethanes failures in 2019.
T-H-Ms are usually formed as a result of adding chlorine to water and have been linked to cancer.
The supply has been added to the Remedial Action List in 2017 and the EPA says it’s continuing to monitor progress as the 2021 deadline approaches.
Dr Michelle Minihan has been telling Clare FM’s Fiona Cahill that people in West Clare can rest assured that the matter is being monitored.
Irish Water issued the following statement to Clare FM:
“Trihalomethanes (THMs for short) are chemicals which are formed by the reaction of naturally occurring dissolved organic material in the water and chlorine, which is used for disinfection purposes. Chlorination is an essential step in the production process to ensure harmful bacteria are eliminated from your drinking water. The clear advice from the HSE in relation to THMs and drinking water is that the “benefits of using chlorine to treat our drinking water are much greater than any possible health risk from THMs”. This is also the position of the World Health Organisation (WHO) who state that “…adequate disinfection should never be compromised to control THMs”.
The protection of public health is Irish Water’s first priority. When our monitoring programmes detect THM levels above the allowable limit (100µg/L), Irish Water notifies the Environmental Protection Agency and consults with the Health Service Executive (HSE) to ensure any potential risk to public health is fully risk assessed. To date, a Do Not Drink notice has not been imposed on any public water supply due to THM exceedances.
In line with the requirements of the EU Drinking Water Directive, Irish Water is taking action to remove the risk of the formation of elevated levels of THMs in all public water supplies. We are progressing a programme to improve water quality through investment in water services infrastructure and are targeting specific Water Supply Zones where the risk of elevated THMs is highest. Irish Water is also upgrading and optimising the treatment processes at all water treatment plants across the country. This includes controlling the concentration of chlorine in the water, one of the key measures in controlling THM formation, as well as the reorganisation of networks and regular flushing of storage reservoirs and pipelines.”
