Audit to assess the suitability of the Abbeyleix Public Water Supply (PWS) for removal from the EPA’s Remedial Action List (RAL).
The Abbeyleix PWS is on the EPA’s RAL since Quarter 2 2019 due to inadequate treatment for Cryptosporidium
This note in the audit suggests that results are not easy to access. It would be an interesting test case to submit an Open Data Directive request for Irish Water SCADA feed, which would highlight water quality issues in almost realtime: “Results have not been incorporated on the county wide SCADA system so cannot be accessed remotely by operators”
This dataset consists of drinking water monitoring results and water supply details reported annually to the EPA by water services authorities in accordance with the Drinking Water Regulations for the year 2020. There are 48 parameters monitored under the regulations, including E. coli, coliform bacteria, pH, ammonium, conductivity, turbidity, taste, odour and colour. The information on water supplies includes population served, volume, source type and treatment. The data is organised by year and by local authority. Each local authority data is presented in a separate ZIP file.
The data are presented on Excel Spreadsheet files. For each local authority for 2020 there are four files. These files contain:
The list of exceedances of the parametric value (limit) set in the Drinking Water Regulations
The list of compliance monitoring results
The shortfall in monitoring
Details of the water supply – population served, volume, source type and treatment etc.
The percentage compliance of all supplies with all parameters.
This dataset has been made openly available to all public access. Please read below regarding citation for further usage of the data.
The results and data are provided in Microsoft Excel XLS file format.
There are 31 zip files available. The approximate size of each zip file is less than 1 MB. Some of the files might be a little larger than 1MB. Once you download one zip file and confirm the download details you will be provided with a direct quick download to all remaining files.
For any drinking water data queries, email drinkingwater@epa.ie (EPA Drinking Water Team)
Drinking Water Audit Report in respect of Audit carried out on 02/03/21 at Barndarrig Public Drinking Water Supply.
Irish Water issued a Do Not Consume Notice to 220 consumers of Barndarrig public water supply on 09/02/21 due to nitrite exceedances in the final water at Barndarrig water treatment plant. The incident was suitably escalated and managed in order to protect public health.
Investigations into the cause of the nitrite contamination have been inconclusive to date. Irish Water and Wicklow County Council should complete the investigations and identify any remedial measures necessary to address potentially polluting activities in the zone of contribution to the borehole source.
Daily samples are taken (Monday to Friday) for analysis of nitrite
To date, the investigation has been inconclusive in determining the cause of the nitrite contamination of the borehole source
Irish Water plans to install a continuous nitrite monitor at Barndarrig water treatment plant to provide real time data and to serve as a warning system if nitrite levels rise again
During the audit, neither Irish Water or Wicklow County Council could rule out the possible impact of recent slurry spreading in the area or leakage from the sewer network in the vicinity
EPS Ireland representatives confirmed there is 36 to 48 hours storage of treated water in the reservoir at Barndarrig water treatment plant. This will allow the plant to be shut down temporarily if nitrite levels exceed a critical level, when the continuous nitrite monitor is in place at the plant
Drinking Water Audit Report in respect of audit carried out on 15/06/21 at Ennis Public Drinking Water Supply
The Ennis WTP serves a population of approximately 27,945 and produces 12,097m3/day. The Ennis WTP is operated on behalf of Irish Water by EPS Group under a Design Build Operate (DBO) contract. The plant operates 24 hours/day within its design capacity of 750m3/hr.
The Ennis PWS is supplied by the Drumcliff spring source which is located in a below ground concrete chamber approximately 4m to 5m deep, <1km from the plant. According to EPS, the raw water quality is generally consistent but is influenced by surface water following heavy rainfall. The abstraction rate on the day of the audit was 486.6m3/hr.
Disinfection of the Ennis public water supply is by chlorination using 14% sodium hypochlorite. Duty and standby chlorine dosing pumps are in place with automatic switchover in the event of pump failure.
Irish Water should consult with the HSE in relation to the plants inability to verify the Cryptosporidium barrier
Irish Water should review and implement turbidity alarms and shutdowns on the microfiltration unit to ensure that the plant operates in accordance with the EPA’s Water Treatment Manual: Filtration.
Irish Water should review the chlorine alarm settings to ensure that an alarm is triggered in the event of water being inadequately disinfected
Drinking Water Audit Report in respect of audit carried out on 12/10/21 at Barrow Public Water Supply – Srowland Water Treatment Plant
Plant is managed by Veolia, operating under DBO contract to Irish Water
Raw water is abstracted from the River Barrow and stored in two raw water storage reservoirs which have up to 3 days storage (120,000 m3 capacity).
THM monitoring programme since June 2021 show elevated levels of THMs in the distribution network which are very close to the 100 ug/l parametric value
Irish Water’s investigations into drinking water quality exceedances in the Barrow supply and Barrow Poulaphouca Blend supply during 2021 found inadequate residual chlorine levels at several locations in the distribution networks, with some results being persistently low.
UV alarms needed
With the exception of UV treatment, there are suitable plant shutdowns in place to prevent the entry of inadequately treated water entering the distribution network
