Water discolouration and disruption warning for parts of Cork’s northside next week

Parts of Cork city’s northside may suffer overnight water supply disruptions and discolouration early next week, Uisce Éireann has warned.

The water utility company said that mains flushing works are scheduled to take place from 10pm on Tuesday, March 18, until 6am on Wednesday, March 19, and are likely to cause disruptions to local water supplies, as well as discolouration.

According to the company, the works may cause supply disruptions and discolouration to Assumption Rd, Ardpatrick, Mount Farran, Glen Avenue, Farran Cleary Place, The Glen and surrounding areas in Cork city.

There will be a traffic management plan in place for the duration of the works.

Uisce Éireann said it recommended that the public should allow two to three hours after the estimated restoration time for water supply to fully return.

To access updates on these works, the public is invited to visit the Uisce Éireann website, water.ie, and enter in the search bar the reference: CCI00090439.

Last month, Uisce Éireann disclosed that in the two years since its €40m Lee Road water-treatment plant for Cork city opened, the company had recorded a 103% increase in complaints of illnesses suspected of being caused by dirty drinking water.

Since the plant opened in the summer of 2022, homes across the city have experienced persistent problems with brown and orange discoloured water.

In 2022, the company received 29 complaints from Cork people who suspected they had been made ill by drinking dirty water, an increase of 1,350% on 2021, when it had received two such reports.

Following a query from The Echo, Uisce Éireann said that in 2023 it received 41 reports of illness suspected to have been caused by dirty water, and in 2024 it received 59 such reports. The 2023 figures mark a 41% increase on 2022, and the 2024 figures show a 44% increase on 2023.

The 2024 figures, which show 59 reports of illnesses suspected of being caused by dirty drinking water, are more than double the 2022 figure of 29, or an increase of 103%.

According to Uisce Éireann, the combination of an adjustment of chemicals used in water preparation at the Lee Road plant and increased water pressure caused rusty sediment to be stripped from the inside of the city’s aging cast-iron water mains, resulting in intermittent and ongoing problems with discoloured water in homes across the city.

Last month, Uisce Éireann officials said it could be summer before a €1.6m investment might result in a significant improvement in water discolouration issues across Cork city.

Those measures include the removal of manganese from incoming water, already in effect, and a treatment process which will increase the alkalinity of the water leaving the plant, strengthen the lining of the pipes.

An Uisce Éireann spokesperson told The Echo that the company “recognises the impact water discolouration has on affected Cork city residents and reiterates its commitment to prioritising our response to this issue through its dedicated water quality taskforce for Cork city.” 

Uisce Éireann is working to deliver a number of measures including investment in new conditioning processes, water mains rehabilitation works, remedial upgrades to the water network, and flushing the network, they added.

Uisce Éireann continues to advise not to drink discoloured water, the spokesperson said.

“In the event of discolouration, running the tap for several minutes — we recommend up to 20 minutes — will usually restore water to a clear colour. The water is safe to drink once running clear.

“If the issue remains unresolved, we encourage customers to contact us directly. The customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278.