Water issues ‘as bad now as ever’: More than 140 complaints on Cork water in 2025

More than 140 complaints about water in the city were made so far this year, with more than half of these relating to discoloration and nearly a quarter from people saying they were ill as a result of the water.

Data provided to The Echo by Uisce Éireann on foot of a freedom of information request showed that 141 complaints were made to the utility body by people in the city between January and November of this year.

In general, complaints have decreased from the start of the year but are starting to rise again after lower summer figures.

There were 20 complaints made last January, 23 in February, 21 in March, 11 in April, seven in May, 13 in June, 12 in July and down to two in August. But this then jumped to nine in September, 11 in October and 12 in the month of November.

Of these complaints, almost half related to discoloration of water. This was most prevalent in the beginning of the year, with the start of the year providing the most discoloration complaints — 13 complaints were made in January, 15 in February and 12 in March. In all, there were 70 such complaints in total.

The next most common reason, accounting for nearly one in four complaints, was “reported illness”, with 32 people saying they had become ill as a result of the water.

There were also 17 complaints about water quality in general and 16 complaints about water outages, as well as two complaints about the taste of the water, two about the water’s odour, and one about a boil-water notice.

Of the 139 complaints, just one was listed as being still ‘open’ and that was a November complaint about illness as a result of the water.

People Before Profit/Solidarity councillor Brian McCarthy told The Echo: “From the day this started, they’ve been using statistics to mask the real scale of the problem and the impact it’s having.

“It’s as bad now as it ever has been, but a lot of people don’t bother reporting it anymore, because Uisce Éireann just log the call and then do nothing about it,” Mr McCarthy said.

“As well as that, you’ll always have a temporary improvement after they do flushing, but that’s just a stopgap, not a solution.” Mr McCarthy added.

“The real scandal, though, is that for three years, between Uisce Éireann, Cork City Council, and the Government, they’ve done literally nothing to support people affected.

“Where are the alternative clean-water supplies for people who can’t use what’s coming out of the tap?

“Where are the water tankers for communities?

“Where are the bottled-water vouchers?”

An Uisce Éireann spokesperson told The Echo: "There was no verified case of illness due to drinking water quality related to any of the complaints received. All customer complaints that mention illness are treated seriously and promptly forwarded for investigation to determine if there is a water quality issue. Overall Ireland’s public water supplies are of very high quality, with over 99% of Ireland’s drinking water supplies fully compliant with drinking water standards.

"Uisce Éireann has been actively working to address water quality issues and has recorded notable improvements in Cork city. This follows the completion of the manganese removal and alkalinity boosting works at the Lee Road Water Treatment Plant, in addition to a substantial programme of works over the past 12 months.

"The dedicated water quality taskforce continues to work to minimise instances of discolouration across the city to ensure they do not exceed the typical frequency expected when operating a network of this age. As with all networks and particularly a network as old as Cork city, discolouration events can occur due to water main bursts, operational issues or localised network issues. We continue to strongly encourage customers to report instances of discolouration to help us respond in real time and to inform our short, medium and long-term remedial works.

"Uisce Éireann produces 1.7 billion litres of water a day in over 700 treatment plants which is supplied to 1.61 million homes and 173,000 businesses. To ensure drinking water is safe to drink. Uisce Éireann has an extensive water quality monitoring regime in place. Any exceedance to the drinking water regulations that could potentially impact public health is reported to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for their awareness and advice. In addition, all medical practitioners, including clinical directors of diagnostic laboratories, are required to notify the Medical Officer of Health (MOH)/Director of Public Health (DPH) of certain diseases. 

"This information is used to investigate cases thus preventing spread of infection and further cases. Regular engagement between the HSE and Uisce Éireann takes place where this surveillance indicates possible water vectors of transmission. In these cases, evidence of treatment barrier performance and minimum disinfectant residuals in the network are provided on a case-by-case basis."