Page 27 - COBH EDITION 15th OCTOBER DIGITAL VERSION

Do Not Drink Notice FOR BELVELLY area remains in place until
further notice
Irish Water is working in partnership with Cork County Council to address issues that have led
to a Do Not Drink Notice being applied for 65 properties in the Belvelly area since September
7th. The Do Not Drink Notice was imposed on the advice of the Health Service Executive when
an iron exceedance was identified on the supply. Excess iron in the supply can cause a drop in
the Chlorine level which in turn can leave the water at risk from inadequate disinfection.
Since the issue came to light, Irish Water and Cork County Council have been working to ad-
dress the problem, including ongoing flushing and sampling in the affected part of the network.

Current action plan
The installation of an initial chlorine dosing point in the network to provide additional protec-
tion for customers has been completed, with sampling ongoing to assess its effectiveness.
Additionally, a new process to provide pH correction to further protect the supply over the
medium term is also being implemented at the treatment plant.
Longer term action plan
To help prevent against future iron exceedances, analysis of the network is ongoing to deter-
mine the feasibility of re-arranging the supply pipework. As this may require construction of
some new network and valve arrangements, it is likely to be a longer term project.
Ongoing testing
Testing of water quality at taps in the area continues and we share these results with the HSE
who will advise on the lifting of the notice.

In the meantime, water tankers remain in place in the area. They are located at Cois Fota
Estate and at Aldi, Ticknock.
We acknowledge and apologise for the disruption and inconvenience this is causing and would
like to assure customers that Irish Water and Cork County Council are working to restore a
normal water supply as quickly as possible. We will provide regular updates to the community
as we work to lift the notice.
Further information and additional advice for customers is available on www.water.ie or by call-
ing the Irish Water Customer Care Helpline on 1850 278 278.

This water should not be used for
- drinking - drinks made with water, - food preparation, washing or cooking of food,
- brushing of teeth, or making of ice.
In particular, pregnant women should not drink this water.

This water should not be used for making up infant formula for bottled fed infants. An alterna-
tive source of water should be used. If using bottled water, the bottled water should be boiled
first (to sterilise) and avoid bottled water labelled as ‘Natural Mineral Water’ as it can have
higher levels of sodium and other minerals. It can be used if no other water is available, for as
short a time as possible, as it is important to keep babies hydrated.
- The water can be used for personal hygiene, bathing, flushing toilets, laundry and washing of
utensils.
- Domestic water filters will not render water safe to drink.
- Caution should be taken when bathing children to ensure that they do not swallow the
bathing water.
- Discard ice cubes in fridges and freezers and filtered water in fridges.
Please note that boiling the water will not be sufficient to make it suitable
to drink.