About 1.3 million people in Ireland are drinking mains tap water which is not safe.
Acccording to the Irish Independent 290 treatment plants across the State must be upgraded because they are out of date and can’t produce safe water,e-coli and cryptosporidium and chemicals have been found in tap water
In Cork, the EPA says that treatment and management issues need to be addressed, including improvements in how the water is treated. The plant serves 123,000 people and was flooded last year.
An EPA report shows that, in Waterford, the plant serving more than 40,000 people was not meeting EU standards to remove e-coli from the supply. It was upgraded, and experts are monitoring the source to ensure the action plan worked.
The Minister for the Environment John Gormley is expected to be allocated €500m next year to complete works on treatment plants across the country.
