Anger at safety monitoring failures at Dunshaughlin Water Treatment Plant

News that safety alarms at the Dunshaughlin water treatment plant had been disabled for months has been met with a furious reaction and fears for public health.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has expressed concern at the findings of an audit of the plant in May which found safety alarms and automatic shutdowns designed to stop inadequately treated water reaching customers’ taps had been disabled since the end of January.

The audit also discovered that chlorine dosing of water supplies had also stopped at the end of January and there had been numerous incidents this year, where levels of iron and discolouration of the water were above recommended safety limits.

The EPA directed Uisce Éireann to submit a report on the actions taken and plans to address 12 recommendations contained in its audit report.

The news was met with a furious reaction locally and followed a meeting of the Willows Residents Association on Wednesday night to discuss water problems in the area at which residents vowed to lobby Ministers, TDs and local representatives on the issue.

"It is scandalous," somebody should be prosecuted over it," said Cllr Gerry O'Connor, who said that for the past 18 months he has been inundated with complaints about the water.

"The discolouration has been disgraceful, You wouldn't wash a dog in it. They didn't realise raw water was going into the system. I cannot get anywhere with customer services and they keep blaming Meath County Council. Eight months ago the school had to close because they had no water.

"This report is scandalous. They didn't notify the HSE, they didn't notify the EPA about the failings in the system. If this was in a private company somebody would be sacked, I have called on Uisce Eireann to attend the next Municipal District Meeting.

"This is affecting over 8,500 people. It is absolutely disgraceful in this day and age," he said.

Cllr Fionnan Blake said it was disgraceful that there was nothing to stop untreated water getting into the system from January until May and expressed concern at the high levels of iron in the water,

"Somebody has to take responsibility. I will be following up with the EPA and Uisce Eireann," he said.

Cllr Nick Killian said he had serious concerns regarding the safety of the water supply from this water treatment.

"I have received numerous phone calls about this report, particularly from worried parents of young children.

"This a scandalous situation that Irish Water have allowed to develop for its thousands of customers in the Dunshaughlin area."

Cllr Caroline O’Reilly has called for urgent Ministerial, regulatory and public health intervention following the revelations.

“For months I have been raising brown and orange water, heavy sediment, repeated outages, pressure problems and concerns around iron in the Dunshaughlin supply.

“I have sought testing information, raised questions about iron levels and the boreholes supplying the town, repeatedly contacted Uisce Éireann, asked for senior engagement and raised concerns about whether the infrastructure has the capacity and resilience for the level of development planned for Dunshaughlin.

“I have continuously pursued this and, quite frankly, I feel like I am banging my head off a brick wall. Residents have told me they feel exactly the same.

“I have sent questions, followed up, asked for meetings and sought clear explanations. Too often I either don’t get the answers I have asked for or receive a response that doesn’t actually address the issue.

“Uisce Éireann has consistently failed to properly engage with me and other elected representatives. I am expected to answer to the people I represent, but I cannot give them information that Uisce Éireann will not provide.”

Cllr O’Reilly has to Minister Browne and the relevant regulatory and public health authorities, seeking an urgent meeting involving Uisce Éireann, the EPA, Meath County Council and public health representatives.

“We need everyone around one table, one set of facts and clear accountability.

“I want to know when the chlorine treatment and safety alarms were disabled, for how long, who knew, why the EPA was not informed, whether water continued to enter the public supply and what the microbiological and chemical testing shows.

“Most importantly, residents need an independent answer to one very simple question - is their water safe?

“Dunshaughlin is growing rapidly and we also need a proper investigation into the continuing discolouration and sediment and a long-term assessment of the capacity and resilience of its water supply.

“This has gone on for long enough. Dunshaughlin needs answers, accountability and a clear plan to fix this.”

In a statement Uisce Eireann said that all appropriate measures have been put in place to safeguard drinking water quality.

"The water supplied from the Dunshaughlin Water Treatment Plant is safe to drink. Continuous monitoring, testing and oversight by Uisce Éireann confirms that drinking water quality is always maintained.

"We take the recommendations of the EPA very seriously. As soon as these matters were identified, Uisce Éireann prioritised a programme of improvements and our teams have been working to ensure all recommended actions are completed.

"It is important to note that chlorine disinfection of the water supply remained in operation throughout the period covered in the report, and sufficient chlorine levels were maintained at all times within the network to protect public health.

"Since the report was published, significant work has been completed, and further upgrades are continuing at the plant. A number of improvement and optimisation works were already planned and underway before the audit, and several of these have been accelerated in response to the recommendations.

"The improvement programme which has been carried out over recent months includes upgrades to monitoring equipment, automation of key treatment processes, enhanced instrumentation, tank cleaning, network flushing and increased sampling. These measures are designed to strengthen operational resilience, improve oversight of the treatment process and ensure that customers continue to receive a safe, reliable drinking water supply."

Uisce Eireann said that prior to the report being published they had already commenced a programme of flushing the network to proactively address water discolouration which has been affecting some customers in the Dunshaughlin. This programme of proactive daily flushing to reduce instances of discolouration will continue.

"Regular sampling is also carried out on the network in the town, along with operational sampling at the water treatment plant. This sampling provides reassurance that the drinking water supply is compliant from a public health perspective once running clear and it also helps us with investigations into discolouration reports.

"Uisce Éireann is committed to keeping customers informed across multiple platforms 24/7, and we encourage customers to engage with us through our website, X channels @IWCare and @IrishWater, or through our customer care helpline on 1800 278 278, which is open 24 hours a day. Customers can also sign up for Uisce Éireann's free text alert service by registering their Eircode and mobile number to receive real-time updates on local water supply issues."