Do Not Drink and Do Not Wash water restriction remains in place on Swanlinbar Public Water Supply

Irish Water and Cavan County Council continue to liaise with the HSE to rectify the situation

Irish Water is continuing to work with Cavan County Council to implement operational measures which will enable the Do Not Drink and Do Not Wash drinking water restriction that was issued on the Swanlinbar public water supply in Co Cavan last week, on the advice of the HSE, to be lifted as soon as possible.

Commenting, Peter Gallagher, Irish Water said: “Irish Water and Cavan County Council are aware of the inconvenience this notice is causing for customers on this scheme. We would like to apologise to these customers and thank them for their patience and assure them that both organisations are working hard to have this notice lifted as quickly as possible. We will continue to liaise with the HSE until the situation is rectified and we will update the public as soon as this happens.”

Issue

This drinking water restriction was issued due to increased chlorine levels in the water supply and customers are advised that it remains in place. The issue was detected following sampling which showed elevated chlorine levels in the supply.

Alternative water supply

An alternative water supply continues to be available for customers at the car park to the rear of O’Reilly’s filling station in Swanlinbar and customers are advised to boil the water from these tankers before consumption as a precautionary measure.

Advice

The HSE advises that water from the Swanlinbar Public Water Supply is unsafe to:

• Consume for drinking;
• in connection with food preparation; and
• Use for personal hygiene, including brushing teeth and bathing.

All prepared drinks, foods, ice cubes and baby foods which contain water from the network should be discarded. In the interest of public health, it is advised that all users, both domestic and commercial, on the affected scheme should not use tap water until further notice except for flushing of toilets and flushing of internal house plumbing systems.

Irish Water expects that the issue will be resolved in the coming days and in the meantime customers must not drink the water or wash in the water until further notice.

Vulnerable customers

Vulnerable customers on this supply who have self-registered with Irish Water have been contacted directly.

If it already hasn’t been done, customers are advised to draw down water from attic/storage tanks; to flush toilets or run bathroom taps intermittently; and as tanks refill chlorine levels in storage tank will return to normal.

Leaflets advising customers of the Do Not Drink and Do Not Wash notice were distributed in the impacted area by Cavan County Council staff. For more information and additional advice, please call our 24-hour customer care helpline on 1850 278 278.