Second boil water notice issued in County Limerick

Limerick County Council has issued another boil water notice for County Limerick this week; this time affecting the Pallasgreen area.

100 households are affected by the new public water notice in areas including Knockanea, Grange West, Knockeen, Ballyart, Castle-erkin, Woodfarm, Dromkeen, Drombane, Sunville, Garranemore, Dromlara, Lisheen, Ballyvoneen, Brackylea and Linfield.

Testing by laboratory officials within the council has identified E-Coli in the Pallasgreen Water Supply.

Director of Services with Limerick County Council Paul Crowe explains,

“Due to the recent heavy rainfall in the county, the Rockhill and Pallasgreen water supplies have 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.”

Earlier this week, the local authority issued a similar public alert on the Rockhill Public Water Supply which affected around 153 homes and businesses.

The council is warning residents in both affected areas to take the following precautions,

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.