Supply to 40% of Cork city disrupted

WATER QUALITY:WATER AUTHORITIES across the State were last night engaged in emergency checks of water quality as floods posed a potential contamination risk to supplies.

Large areas of the western side of Cork City which were flooded included the city’s water treatment plant on the Lee Road. As a result, Cork City Council could not treat water, and about 40 per cent of the city experienced supply disruption yesterday. The council said this figure could worsen as the available treated water in the reservoirs was consumed.

A boil-water notice was issued in Ballinasloe, Co Galway, due to concerns about floodwater contaminating the reservoir.

The threat to water supplies came as the Irish Academy of Engineering called on the Government to set up a national water authority to ensure the disparate water authorities across the State were protected from events such as flooding and future climate change. It warned that low-lying power plants including Dublin’s Poolbeg were at a risk of flooding.