Another water notice issued to Rockhill area

Residents of a county Limerick community who were issued a water notice last week have once again been issued with another boil alert.

Limerick County Council has issued a boil water notice to customers served by the Rockhill Water Supply Scheme Wednesday, following consultation with the HSE.

The areas affected by the public water notice are Ballyteige Upper, Ballyfookeen, Howardstown North, Cappanafaraha, Ballywillin, Ballyclough Upper, Ballyinoran, Garryfine, Knockaunavoddig, Garrane, Ballynoe, Mounteagle and Lotteragh Upper.

Director of Services, Transportation & Water Services at Limerick County Council said in a statement,

“Due to the recent heavy rainfall in the county, the Rockhill Water Supply has been under continuous surveillance. The surveillance subsequently identified E-Coli in the water supply. As Water Services Authority, on receipt of Health Service Executive (HSE) advice we wish to advise customers that, water being supplied from now until further notice should not be used for human consumption except under a number of conditions and for certain purposes.”

Residents in the affected areas should be aware of the following,

Water for drinking purposes, brushing teeth and food preparation should be boiled. Boil the water to ensure a rolling vigorous boil and then allow it to cool. Cover it and store it in a fridge or cold place.

Water from the hot tap is not safe to drink. Domestic filters will not guarantee that water is safe to drink. Discard ice cubes in fridges and freezers.Use water that has been prepared for drinking (i.e. that is boiled) for preparing foods that will not be cooked, e.g. for washing salads . It is safe to drink commercial bottled mineral water.

Prepare baby feeds with water that has been brought to the boil once and cooled. Do not use water that has been reboiled several times. If tap water is unavailable, use bottled water that has been brought to the boil and cooled. Avoid using water that is fizzy, unless boiling has removed all the fizziness. Check the label: water in bottles labelled “natural mineral water” is not required to meet all the standards of tap waters.

Don’t use natural mineral water with concentrations greater than the following for infant feeding: sodium –200mg/l; Nitrate –50mg/l; Nitrite –0.5mg/l; Sulphate –250mg/l.

Water maybe used for flushing of toilets and for internal house plumbing, as well as for personal hygiene and bathing.

For anyone concerned in the area, further information and advice is available from 061-496326 9.30am–4.30pm Monday-Friday or 061-419226 at other times.