Public confidence in the cleanliness and safety of the Galway drinking water supply has “gone totally” as the city faces into its second major water crisis in less than 18 months.
The discovery of “very high levels of lead” in 12 houses around the city, particularly in Old Mervue, has led to City Hall and the HSE issuing a warning to residents of the area not to drink the water until further notice.
The rest of the city has been advised that if they live in houses built before 1970, they must thoroughly flush out their taps in the morning to clear any potential lead out of the system. Coming just over a year after the notorious cryptosporidium crisis, this is a major blow to an already weakened public confidence in the system.
While the problem appears to be confined to just the Old Mervue area, with the rest of the city on notice to take precautions when using tap water, many believe the lead contamination could be more extensive than is thought.
It is understood that some 19 per cent of houses in the city are pre-1970 vintage which has le to fears by some that potentially 5,000 houses are affected by the lead crisis.
“Only 20 houses were tested in the survey that led to the discovery of the problem but 12 came back with high readings,” Fine Gael Cllr Brian Walsh told the Galway Advertiser. “That is 60 per cent of those tested. The scale of this could be much larger than we anticipated.”
Fianna Fáil Cllr John Connolly described the results of the tests - which were presented to councillors at an emergency meeting of the Galway City Council on Tuesday - as “frightening”. “The figures give the impression that this problem is widespread throughout the city,” he said.
City businessman and Labour member Neil McNeilus observed: “I know it’s confined to certain areas but they are only up the road!”
Fine Gael Sen Fidelma Healy Eames described the lead levels are “extremely disturbing”. She said: “The health implications and long term effects of lead poisoning cannot and must not be understated. Evidence shows that the effects of lead poisoning can be especially toxic to children and the unborn.”
Both Connolly and McNeilus say public confidence in the water quality has taken a serious hit that will be difficult to recover.
“People’s confidence is gone totally,” said Cllr Connolly. “The problem may be a legacy of the construction industry of 80 years ago, but you would have thought the pipes would have been replaced by now.”
“Confidence is at an all time low,” said Mr McNeilus. “We are still living with the consequences of the cryptosporidium crisis. Tourism was badly hit and many people in the city are still buying bottled water because they don’t trust the system. Nonetheless we have to be positive about this. We have to pull together for the sake of the city and find solutions to this issue.”
However a spokesperson for the Galway City Council said the local authority is doing all it can to deal with the crisis.
City Hall is anxious to point out that the water leaving the Terryland and Luimnagh treatments plants is of “the highest quality” and does not go through any lead pipes.
The council will contact all households in the affected area and is supplying an alternative water supply to Old Mervue to minimise the inconvenience as much as possible. Further sampling of the drinking water and scientific tests will be conducted to investigate the extent of the problem in the city and to see what other kinds of action need be taken throughout Galway.
The council is also looking at implementing measures to neutralise the pH of the water (ie, its acidity ) and counteract any lead levels, within the next four to six weeks. The long term solution is to replace the lead piping - which will be an intensive and expensive job
