The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has ordered Galway City Council to produce a report and to take action on lead contamination in the drinking water supply.
The EPA warned the council that it will be committing an offence if it does not comply by October 15th.
Galway City Council said today it would extend its testing for lead in drinking water, following the latest alert over water contamination.
City manager Joe McGrath said that efforts would be made to test for lead in all areas of the city where pre-1970 housing is prevalent – constituting about a fifth of residences in total.
Lead service piping in the Old Mervue area is believed to have caused elevated lead levels, but the local authority is still not revealing details of the tests. Council engineers have begun installing taps with safe drinking water for up to a thousand residents in Old Mervue, and householders have been advised not to drink their tap water – even if it is boiled.
Residents in the Bohermore, Claddagh and Shantalla areas have also been advised not to drink water until further notice, following positive tests in 12 of 20 houses tested for lead.
Angry councillors today accused the local authority of withholding information on the seriousness of the alert.
In a statement this afternoon, the EPA said the council had informed it on July 30th of elevated lead levels in drinking water in the Galway city public water supply. The level of lead reported was 106 micrograms per litre. The lead standard in the Drinking Water Regulations is 25 micrograms per litre.
The EPA said the council indicated the suspected cause of the failure was a lead service pipe and water main to the house where the sample was taken.
Enforcement officers with the EPA asked the council to clarify the ownership of the lead service pipe, whether other properties were affected and whether they intended to replace the pipe work.
On August 25th, after it received a response from the council, the EPA asked it to prepare a programme for replacement of the pipework, to consult with the HSE and to identify the extent of the problem.
“The council responded on September 8th 2008 stating that it was determining the extent of works required and that the agreed approach would be forwarded to the EPA,” the EPA said.
The EPA said that after consultation with the HSE, it today issued a direction to the council under the EU drinking water regulations.
The direction requires Galway City Council to carry out a survey to determine the extent of lead piping in the distribution system and the population affected.
Details of any lead tests carried out over the past four years and maps identifying the sections of the distribution system where elevated levels of lead were recorded must be included in that report.
The council must identify all sections of the water supply distribution network in the City that have lead piping and are in the ownership of Galway City Council and it must also set out the remedial measures it will take to deal with the problem.
“The EPA has directed Galway City Council to provide all the information referred to above by October 15th 2008 relating to this failure to meet the parametric value for lead. Failure to comply with this direction is an offence,” the EPA said.
It said it would “monitor and assess the situation” in liaison with the HSE and would provide further updates as information becomes available.
“The priority for the EPA is to ensure that adequate measures are put in place by Galway City Council, at the earliest possible date, to ensure that the effected areas have a consistently safe supply of drinking water,” the body said.
Mayor of Galway Pádraig Conneely said he would hold a public meeting on the issue on Friday.
Labour Party president and Galway West TD Michael D Higgins raised the issue in the Dáil today. Mr Higgins asked Minister for the Environment John Gormley to meet with the city council to address the issues that had arisen.