Residents concerned at change of water supply
CALLS have been made on Irish Water to meet directly with public representatives to discuss the changing of the supply to parts of South Dublin from Ballymore Eustace to Leixlip.
This has resulted in a change of the type of water to Lucan, Clondalkin and Palmerstown from a soft water supply to a hard water supply.
According to Mayor Mark Ward, many residents are concerned about this and also there has been many complaints about lime scale on electrical appliance such as kettles and dishwashers.
Mayor Ward welcomed news this week that following an upgrade in 2020 that the water will be blended from both plants.
Speaking after he had a successful motion passed calling for the meeting this week Mayor Ward said; “I have had many complaints about the quality of water in Clondalkin, Lucan and Palmerstown recently.
“Residents have contacted me about a different taste and also about increases in lime scale that are damaging electrical appliances. One resident reported that she is on her third kettle in the same amount of weeks.”
Mayor Ward said he contacted Irish Water who have assured him that the water is perfectly fine to drink, Irish Water tested samples of water at his request and they confirmed that all parameters tested for were compliant and no issues were found.
Mayor Ward continued: “I have received an update advising the water supply in the North Clondalkin, Lucan and Palmerstown comes from a number of different Water Treatment Plants, primarily the Liffey plants at Leixlip Water Treatment Plant and Ballymore Eustace WTP.
“The water balance between the two is a function of the supply demand balance from time to time and is managed on a daily basis. Both are modern well run plants which fully meet all statutory drinking water standards.
“Since March, 2018 the supply of water from the Leixlip WTP has been extended to areas of South Dublin (Lucan, Palmerstown and North Clondalkin) because of increased demand overall in the network.
“Irish Water stated that the rebalancing of the supply from both plants is unavoidable in order to ensure a secure sustainable water supply to homes and businesses in these areas and avoid water restrictions and water outages.
“Hard water contains high levels of natural minerals absorbed from rock and soil. Hard water is not harmful to your health, in fact, the higher mineral content of hard water (such as Calcium and Magnesium) may confer health benefits above that of soft water.”
