The Environmental Protection Agency has said there is no acute risk in the short term to people from Irish drinking water which Europe’s top court ruled had exceeded EU safety levels in relation to the concentration of certain chemical compounds.
The European Court of Justice yesterday ruled that the concentration of certain chemical compounds in Irish drinking water have exceeded European Union safety levels.
It said that Ireland had failed to meet its obligations under an EU directive on safe drinking water.
According to the court, trihalomethanes (known as THMs) are chemical compounds often found in drinking water, especially in water treatment systems that use chlorine to remove bacteria and contaminants. They are dangerous to both human health and to the environment, the court said.
Uisce Éireann said it noted the ruling and that it is “determined to address the remaining THM non-compliances effectively”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, EPA enforcement office programme manager Noel Byrne said they were “not surprised” by the judgement.
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He said the EPA, in its role as regulator, has been highlighting the problem with THMs over the past number of years.
He said they have done an independent assessment of the data that has come from Uisce Éireann and where “THMs have been in non-compliance”.
“Some are maybe taking too long to do that,” he said.
Mr Byrne said the HSE advice in the short term is that there is not an acute risk to people from drinking water with THMs, but added that they do not want to see it left there into the future.
“We need to see that those supplies that have THM risks, that they are willing to be compliant with drinking water standards,” Mr Byrne said.
He said Uisce Éireann has increased their surveillance of drinking water supplies nationwide and on areas that are higher risk.
“They have identified newer supplies where there are presences of THM,” he said, adding that they can now look to see how it can be corrected.
“Currently at the moment there are 23 supplies on the EPA’s at-risk supplies and available to see on our website.”
He said there are plans for all of them and “thankfully the plans and timeframes” are a lot shorter compared to those on the list in the European Court.
“They did take too long to deliver,” he said, adding that they will be monitoring closely to ensure Uisce Éireann delivers on these plans.
Uisce Éireann yesterday said it noted the ruling, adding that “public health is our top priority”.
In a statement, the company said it continues “to invest in our infrastructure and implement operational improvement measures to adhere to the standards set out in the Drinking Water Directive and deliver world class drinking water supplies for all our customers”.
Uisce Éireann said it is “determined to address the remaining THM non-compliances effectively” and has “already made significant progress in addressing these issues”.
“It is important to assure customers on the remaining schemes that water is safe to drink,” the company added.
