The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr. John Gormley T.D. today (20 July 2009) announced that he has issued instructions to local authorities to commence publishing the results of their drinking water sampling programmes on their websites.  “I am pleased to announce this measure which is in line with the commitment made in the Programme for Government to enable consumers to access user-friendly information on drinking water quality online” the Minister said.

The Minister has directed that all local authorities should publish the results of their water sampling, with access to the data being made available from a prominent position on each local authority’s homepage. “Improved consumer access to information on the quality of drinking water will be a key driver in bringing about a sustained improvement in the quality of water services.  Ready access by consumers to up-to-date data on water quality is not alone important in terms of protecting public health, but also it empowers consumers to actively engage with the water supplier to seek information or reassurance in relation to their drinking water supply” the Minister stated. 

Under the 2007 Drinking Water Regulations the 34 County and City Councils are required to prepare a monitoring programme to cover each water supply in their functional area and to monitor all water supplies for which they are responsible. The Regulations also set down a range of chemical and micro-biological standards which drinking water supplies must comply with.

Where a local authority determines through its monitoring that the standards set down in the Regulations have been exceeded, it is obliged to consult with the Health Services Executive (HSE) and, in the case of public water supplies, with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Minister’s direction to local authorities also provides that where a supply of water intended for human consumption constitutes a potential danger to human health, the monitoring results, together with any advice from the HSE and the EPA, should be made available on the local authority’s website promptly.

“The focus of the Government’s capital investment in water services has mainly been to put the necessary infrastructure in place to prevent contamination of drinking water in the first instance but it is also essential to have systems in place to deal with any incident of contamination that might arise. For example, earlier this year local authorities were instructed to develop a Drinking Water Incident Response Plan which should be activated in the event of a drinking water incident” the Minister said. “This requirement to publish drinking water data is also part of a package of measures I agreed with EU Commissioner Dimas last year to enhance the protection of drinking water supplies in Ireland” added the Minister.

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