Boil notice issued after crypto found in Mayo water supply

FOLLOWING advice from the Health Service Executive, Irish Water and Mayo County Council issued a boil water notice last evening (Friday) on the Lough Mask Regional Water Supply Scheme to protect consumers.

A routine water sample has detected cryptosporidium in the treated water coming from the Lough Mask Water Treatment Plant and as a result the boil water notice has been put in place to protect the 46,500 people who are supplied from this plant.

Commenting Sean Corrigan, Regional Information Specialist from Irish Water, said: “Public health is our number one priority and while we investigate the source of this contamination it is imperative that people adhere to the boil water notice. We will be contacting priority customers supplied by this scheme who have self-declared to Irish Water directly by telephone.

“Irish Water is working closely with Mayo County Council to investigate all aspects of the scheme. A continuous sampling and testing programme has been put in place.”

Irish Water is liaising with the HSE and the Environment Protection Agency and an incident management team has been set up to give full attention to this incident.

 

Water must be boiled for:

 

Drinking

Drinks made with water

Preparation of salads and similar foods, which are not cooked prior to eating

Brushing of teeth

Making of ice

Discard ice cubes in fridges and freezers and filtered water in fridges. Make ice from cooled boiled water.

 

What actions should be taken:

 

Use water prepared for drinking when preparing foods that will not be cooked (e.g. washing salads).

Water can be used for personal hygiene, bathing and flushing of toilets but not for brushing teeth or gargling.

Boil water by bringing to a vigorous, rolling boil (e.g. with an automatic kettle) and allow to cool. Cover and store in a refrigerator or cold place. Water from the hot tap is not safe to drink. Domestic water filters will not render water safe to drink.

Caution should be taken when bathing children to ensure that they do not swallow the bathing water.

Prepare infant feeds with water that has been brought to the boil once and cooled. Do not use water that has been re-boiled several times. If bottled water is used for the preparation of infant feeds it should be boiled once and cooled. If you are using bottled water for preparing baby food, be aware that some natural mineral water may have high sodium content. The legal limit for sodium in drinking water is 200mg per litre. Check the label on the bottled water to make sure the sodium or 'Na' is not greater than 200mg per litre. If it is, then it is advisable to use a different type of bottled water. If no other water is available, then use this water for as short a time as possible. It is important to keep babies hydrated.

Anyone suffering from diarrhoea for more than two days should contact their general practitioner and provide a stool sample for testing. They should continue to drink plenty of boiled or bottled water.

 

This notice applies to consumers on the Lough Mask Regional Water Supply Scheme including:

 

Castlebar, Westport (see below), Claremorris, Ballinrobe, Ballyhaunis, Knock, Ballindine, Balla, Kilmaine, Cong and their associated hinterlands.

 

Also included are those areas of Westport served from the Lough Mask Regional Water Supply scheme which included the following areas:

Sheeaun, Knockranny, Buckwaria and Clogher GWS, Westport Town, Westport Quay, Belclare, West Road, Newport Road, Carrowholly, Ballinlough GWS, Cloghans GWS, Rosmoney GWS, Ballinrobe Road.

 

And the following group water schemes:

 

Abbeyquarter, Annagh GWS Ballyhaunis, Ballinvilla No.1 GWS, Ballinvilla No.2 GWS, Ballyfarna/Magheraboy GWS, Ballynanerron GWS, Bekan GWS, Belcarra GWS, Bunadober GWS, Carramore GWS, Carras District GWS, Cartron GWS, Cave GWS, Clogher (Turlough) GWS, Cloonboy GWS, Clooncah GWS, Coogue GWS, Crimlin/Ross GWS, Cuillatinny/Liscat GWS, Curraghmore/Cloonkeen GWS, Derry/Knock GWS, Derrymore/Srah GWS, Devlis/Knockbrack GWS, Druimminroe West GWS, Friarsquarter GWS, Garryduff GWS, Gurteen (Westport) GWS, Gurteen / Carrowkeel GWS, Horsepark GWS, Kilgarriff / Larganboy GWS, Kilkeeran GWS, Killawalla GWS, Knockatubber GWS, Lecarrow GWS, Lehinch No. 2 GWS, Lisaniska GWS, Lissatava GWS, Lough Mask Road GWS, Meelickmore GWS, Rahard GWS, Rockfield / Turlough 1 GWS, Rockfield No. 2 GWS, Skehavard (1) GWS, Skehavard (2) GWS, Srah GWS, Sraheen (Aughagower) GWS, Treenlaur GWS (Tourmakeady), Turlough/High Meadow GWS.

 

A map of the scheme will be made available on Irish Water and Mayo County Council’s websites.

 

Irish Water and Mayo County Council wish to apologise for any inconvenience caused by this announcement.

 

Further information and additional advice for customers is available on www.water.ie or by calling 1890 278 278.