ALMOST 115,000 people in Limerick City are being served by a water supply that is deemed “at risk”, according to a new report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The Limerick City Environs public water supply, which serves 114,764 people across the Treaty City, has been deemed as being “at risk” of falling below the acceptable quality standard in the report, with the plant being placed on the EPA’s remedial action list for upgrade works.
Plants that are “at risk” are usually overdue upgrades or are serving a larger number of people than they were designed to.
The city water supply was added to the remedial action list in 2022, with an action plan to be submitted by Uisce Éireann for upgrade works at the plant.
According to Uisce Éireann, 99.7 per cent of Ireland’s drinking water supplies are fully compliant with national standards, and the utility say they are committed to building the resilience of the country’s water treatment plants.
Margaret Attridge, Uisce Éireann’s head of water operations said that the utility is “committed to delivering transformative water services which enable communities to thrive”.
“For those supplies that remain on the (remedial action) list or for those added, Uisce Éireann is progressing plans to address any underlying issues and ensure resilient water supplies for the communities they serve.”
Nationally, there were 57 water supplies on the remedial action list at the end of 2023, with seven further schemes having works completed and being removed from the list by the end of 2023.
