Councillor slams sense of ‘chaotic energy’ in Uisce Éireann responses on Cork water issues

A Cork city councillor has criticised the wait time to receive responses from Uisce Éireann related to water discolouration.

Labour’s Peter Horgan reported discolouration in the Mahon area on September 12, and 11 days later, on Tuesday, he was told by the utility company that it understood the issue “was a source of concern for your constituents”.

“Uisce Éireann crews have repaired a major burst water main west of Glounthaune village,” it stated.

“Glanmire East, Kilcoolishal, Caherlag, Glounthane, and surrounding areas may have experienced a water outage or low water pressure.”

Uisce Éireann operations manager Michael Bell said the utility “understands the inconvenience that unplanned outages can have”. 

The company added: “Typically, it takes two to three hours following repairs for normal supply to be restored to all customers affected by an unplanned outage. 

"However, it may take longer for normal supply to be restored to customers at the end of the network or on higher ground as the system recharges.

“As a result of the outage, customers in Glounthane, Carrigtwohill, Cobh, and the Southern and Eastern divisions of Cork city may have experienced temporary water discolouration.”

Mr Horgan told The Echo he feels “there is a growing sense of chaotic energy emanating from responses that I and local representatives are receiving from Uisce Éireann”.

“Eleven days to get a definitive answer on the discolouration and pressure issues that impacted Blackrock, Beaumont, and Mahon is surreal,” he said.

“To be refused costings on flushing regularity in Douglas is maddening over a number of months. Vague answers on capacity constraints in our pumphouses that are causing stenches in our community. This and more is why I, along with my colleagues in Labour, the Greens, and Social Democrats, want Uisce Éireann to rerun to answer questions at full council, but this time in public. We must get answers to rebuild confidence.”

Uisce Éireann added in correspondence with Mr Horgan: “In the event of discolouration, running the cold kitchen tap for several minutes — we recommend up to 20 minutes — will usually restore the water to a clear colour. The water is safe to drink once running clear.”

However, as revealed in The Echo, the HSE sounded a note of caution on Uisce Éireann’s claims regarding clear water, from a manganese perspective. 

The HSE said in correspondence seen by The Echo: “Uisce Éireann must understand that the HSE’s health advice is not based on the subjectivity of whether water is discoloured or not, but on evidence-based manganese concentration levels in drinking water in relation to health.

“The HSE emphasises that, if consumers in affected areas are being exposed to drinking water with manganese levels above 80µg/l on an ongoing basis, then our immediate recommendation would be a ‘do not consume’ notice.”