Cork TD wants probe into Cork city’s water supply

A Cork TD has called for an investigation into why a multi-million euro water treatment plant opened just over two years ago was only providing 66% of the city’s water in October and November.

Thomas Gould, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, said there were clearly “huge issues” with Uisce Éireann’s Lee Road water treatment plant, which opened in July 2022, adding that many homes on Cork’s northside were left without a reliable water supply for Christmas.

In the first months of the €40m water treatment plant’s operation, the then Irish Water was inundated with complaints about water quality, as brown and orange discoloured liquid began to flow from taps across the city.

The problem with water quality has persisted intermittently in the city since then, predominantly, but not exclusively, affecting homes on Cork’s northside.

In September, Uisce Éireann announced a further investment of €1.6m at the Lee Road water treatment plant.

Mr Gould said the investment was “definitely necessary”, but questioned why the multi-million euro plant was only providing 66% of the city’s water supply in October and November.

Since October, water from the Inniscarra water treatment plant has been diverted via Uisce Éireann’s western trunk water main into the city. In total, Uisce Éireann supplied 1,735,122,568 litres of water to the city in October and November. Of that, 1,139,820,450 litres, or 66%, came from the Lee Road plant.

Uisce Éireann said that due to the mixing of the two water supplies in its low-level reservoir, it could not determine the amount of Inniscarra water specifically supplied to the northside.

It said that the additional water from Inniscarra enabled the company “to anticipate changing raw water conditions and mitigate against elevated levels of manganese as well as maximise water storage volumes in the reservoirs over the winter months”.

Calling for an investigation into the need for further investment in a plant that only two years earlier had received a €40m investment, Mr Gould said concerns remained about the plant’s ability to deliver clean, safe drinking water.

“There are clearly huge issues in this plant that are having dire consequences for homes on the northside who have faced another Christmas without a reliable water supply,” said Mr Gould.

Speaking in mid-December, Brian O’Leary, Uisce Éireann’s regional operations manager for the South-West, said Cork’s cast iron water mains, some of which date back to the late 1800s, require significant investment for long-term replacement. Despite these investments, Uisce Éireann acknowledges some areas of Cork city continue to experience discolouration.

It has moved to reassure residents and businesses that it is working to address the root causes, and encourages anyone affected to report issues.