The Aran island of Inis Oírr has been issued with a “do not consume” notice for its public water supply, which also applies to An Spidéal in Co Galway.
The notices were issued by Irish Water after detection of elevated levels of manganese in both public supplies, and following consultation with the Health Service Executive (HSE).
About 257 residents are affected on Inis Oírr, while about 5,676 customers are affected in An Spidéal, Irish Water says.
It says it is especially important that mains drinking water is not given to bottle-fed infants.
Boiling water will not reduce manganese levels and is “not a suitable measure to make the water safe to consume”, it warns
It says alternative water supplies will be put in place, and further details of the locations of the supplies will be provided.
“Customers are reminded to use their own containers when taking water from the tanker and to boil water before consumption as a precautionary measure,”it says.
Meanwhile, the water issue on Clare island has been resolved and islanders can now resume normal use of the water supply for drinking, food preparation and brushing teeth, it says.
Clare island’s notice was issued on September 11th to protect the health of customer following issues with the disinfection process at Clare island’s water treatment plant.
The “do not consume” notice for Inis Oírr and An Spideál means that drinking water should not be consumed at all.
It affects :
- Drinks made with water
- Food preparation, washing or cooking of food,
- Brushing of teeth
- Making of ice
- Children under 12 months old should not drink this water
In particular, children under 12 months old should not drink this water. This water should not be used for making up infant formula for bottled-fed infants.
It says that if bottled water is used to make up infant formula it should be boiled once (rolling boil for 1 minute), and cooled in the normal way
Ready-to-use formula that does not need added water can also be used.
Domestic water filters will not render water safe to drink, Irish Water says.
It says that caution should be taken when bathing infants to ensure that they do not swallow the bathing water, and advises that ice cubes and filtered water in fridges and freezers should be discarded.
Irish Water says the public water can be used for personal hygiene, bathing, flushing toilets, laundry and washing of utensils.
It says its Customer Contact Centre, is open 24/7 on freephone 1800 278 278, and further information is available on www.water.ie