FOLLOWING consultation with the Health Service Executive (HSE), Irish Water, working in partnership with Clare County Council, has issued a Do Not Consume Notice for consumers on the Shannon/Sixmilebridge Public Water Supply due to elevated levels of manganese. The notice applies to approximately 7,500 customers and is effective immediately. It does not apply to customers in Shannon, Newmarket-on-Fergus and Bunratty.
It is especially important that mains drinking water is not given to bottle fed infants.
Please note this is not a Boil Water Notice. Boiling the water will not reduce manganese levels and is therefore not a suitable measure to make the water safe to consume. This notice does not apply to other water schemes in County Clare.
Tankered water will be in place at the following locations to provide an alternative water supply to customers. Customers are reminded to use their own containers when taking water from the tanker and to boil water before consumption as a precautionary measure. Please adhere to social distancing when queuing for water supplies.
Cratloe: Adjacent to the school
Sixmilebridge: Adjacent to the church
Kilmurry: Adjacent to the church
Kilkishen Adjacent to the school
Quin: Adjacent to the school
Irish Water drinking water compliance and operational experts are working with colleagues in Clare County Council to resolve this situation as soon as possible. Further updates will be issued early next week.
Speaking about the imposition of the notice, Duane O’Brien, Irish Water said, “Irish Water is aware of the impact a Do Not Consume Notice has on the community and would like to reassure impacted customers that we are working hard to lift the notice as quickly and as safely as possible. We would like to thank customers in advance for their patience and cooperation and advise any customers who have concerns to contact our customer care team on 1800 278 278.”
This water should not be used for:
Drinking
Drinks made with water
Food preparation, washing or cooking of food,
Brushing of teeth
Making of ice
Children under 12 months old should not drink this water
In particular, children under 12 months old should not drink this water. This water should not be used for making up infant formula for bottled fed infants. An alternative source of water should be used. Bottled water can also be used to make up infant formula. All bottled water, with the exception of natural mineral water, is regulated to the same standard as drinking water. It is best not to use bottled water labelled as ‘Natural Mineral Water’ as it can have high levels of sodium (salt) and other minerals, although it rarely does. ‘Natural Mineral Water’ can be used if no other water is available, for as short a time as possible, as it is important to keep babies hydrated.
If bottled water is used to make up infant formula it should be boiled once (rolling boil for 1 minute), and cooled in the normal way
Ready-to-use formula that does not need added water can also be used.
Domestic water filters will not render water safe to drink
Caution should be taken when bathing infants to ensure that they do not swallow the bathing water
Discard ice cubes in fridges and freezers and filtered water in fridges
What can you use water for?
The water can be used for personal hygiene, bathing, flushing toilets, laundry and washing of utensils
Irish Water and Clare County Council will continue to liaise with the Health Service Executive with a view to lifting this drinking water restriction as soon as practicable.
Business customers will receive a 40 per cent rebate on the cost of the supply of water to their businesses for the duration of the Do Not Consume Notice.
Updates will be available on www.water.ie at the Water Supply Updates section, on Twitter @IWCare and via our customer care helpline, open 24/7 on 1800 278 278. Customers can also set the location feature on water.ie for localised information about their water supply.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.