Salt Of The Earth In Your Water?

Vartry 18SEPT22

ollowing an enquiry from a Guide reader about the taste of soil from their drinking water, we got in touch with Irish Water.

And fair play, they got right back to us…

Irish Water wishes to advise that some homes and businesses in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and North County Wicklow may continue to experience some slight taste and odour issues with their water supply as the network returns to normal following a recent supply interruption at Vartry Water Treatment Plant.

Vartry Water Treatment Plant

A small number of customers have been reporting earthy and musty tastes and odours from their water supply. In response, Irish Water have carried out sampling and analysis of the water supplies in these areas and can confirm that the water continues to fully meet chemical and microbiological regulatory standards and is safe to drink.

Reservoir levels have stabilised and reached full capacity, with network flows and pressure returning to normal operating conditions. The taste and odour issues experienced by some customers is likely to have been caused by the emptying of some of the reservoirs and distribution supply pipes which could have disturbed internal deposits in concrete structures, pipes, and fittings. However, the water fully meets regulatory parameters under the drinking water regulations and is safe to drink.

Irish Water, in partnership with Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and Wicklow County Councils, continues to monitor the situation as water flows are expected to return to normal over the coming days as water flows to full capacity through the network.

Kevin Love, Regional Asset Operations Lead at Irish Water said, “Investigations continue into the likely cause of the taste and odour issues and we are looking into possible changes in raw water characteristics caused by reduced lake level and seasonal changes as we move from Summer to Autumn.”

Kevin added: “Customers may continue to experience some temporary discolouration of water and odour issues because of the works at Vartry Water Treatment Plant last week, which will continue to improve over the coming days. For advice on clearing discoloration and airlocks, visit here.”

The Irish Water customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800278278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries.

For updates, please visit the Water Supply Updates section of the Irish Water website here.