Uisce Éireann and Cork County Council wish to inform customers that a precautionary Boil Water Notice, will came into effect from midnight, 00.01 Friday 4 August, to protect the health of approximately 20,941 customers supplied by the Glashaboy Water Treatment Plant. This is due to planned industrial action, arising from a dispute between the Unite Trade Union and 7 Local Authorities.

Uisce Éireann’s priority remains the protection of public health. Due to the strike action, Uisce Éireann has taken steps to protect public health by imposing a Boil Water Notice on this scheme. All customers in the following areas, served by Glashaboy Public Water Supply Scheme, are advised to boil their water before consuming from 00.01 Friday 4 August, until further notice: Glanmire, Glounthaune, Little Island, Carrigtwohill, parts of Midleton and surrounding areas. A full list of the townlands affected is available to view at www.water.ie

Customers can check if their property is included by visiting the Water Quality section of www.water.ie and entering the property’s Eircode or address and then clicking on View all detailed test results or by calling the Uisce Éireann’s customer care helpline, open 24/7, on 1800 278 278.

The Boil Water Notice may run for several days as we will need time to assess the impacts on the treatment plant and processes post-strike. There may also be some disruption to water services, in particular, the speed at which bursts to the water network are repaired.

Uisce Eireann’s Head of Water Operations, Margaret Attridge acknowledged the impact of this notice on the community. 

“This dispute is not with Uisce Éireann and outside our control. However, it will regrettably impact Uisce Éireann customers. Our incident management team has been stood up and we are working closely with management in the local authorities to ensure that contingency plans are in place to minimise and manage disruptions to water and wastewater services. To protect public health, we will have to put a Boil Water Notice in place in Glashaboy in Cork from midnight tonight, Thursday 3 August (00.01 Friday 4 August). It is essential that customers follow this advice and boil their water,” she said. 

Vulnerable customers who have registered with Uisce Éireann receive direct communication on Boil Water Notices. Customers are reminded that the water is safe to consume once boiled.

Notes:

The Boil Water Notice does not affect Cobh. In anticipation of the planned industrial action, it was possible to reconfigure the network to remove Cobh from the Glashaboy Water Supply Scheme.

A map and full list of the townlands affected is available to view on www.water.ie and is attached to this press release.

The Boil Water Notice in Cork may run for several days as we will need time to assess the impacts on the treatment plant and processes post-strike.

Due to industrial action, the Glashaboy Water Treatment plant is not operating and while supply to the network will be maintained for the duration of the industrial action from the 2 storage reservoirs at the plant; chlorine levels in the storage reservoirs will deplete over this time. Following consultation with the HSE, a precautionary Boil Water Notice will be effective from Thursday 3rd August at 12 midnight (00.01 Friday 4th August) to protect public health. As is standard with all Boil Water Notices, samples will be taken post industrial action and have to return compliant results before the Notice can be lifted.

Updates are available www.water.ie, on Twitter @IWCare and via our customer care helpline, open 24/7 on 1800 278 278.  

Boil Water Notice Advice

Water must be boiled for:

• Drinking;
• Drinks made with water;
• Preparation of salads and similar foods, which are not cooked prior to eating;
• Brushing of teeth;
• Making of ice – discard ice cubes in fridges and freezers and filtered water in fridges. Make ice from cooled boiled water.

What actions should be taken:

• Use water prepared for drinking when preparing foods that will not be cooked (e.g. washing salads);
• Water can be used for personal hygiene, bathing and flushing of toilets but not for brushing teeth or gargling;
• Boil water by bringing to a vigorous, rolling boil (e.g. with an automatic kettle) and allow to cool. Cover and store in a refrigerator or cold place. Water from the hot tap is not safe to drink. 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;
• Preparing Infant Formula: Where a Boil Water Notice is in place, you can prepare infant formula from tap water that has been boiled once (rolling boil for 1 minute) and cooled beforehand. Bottled water can also be used to make up infant formula. All bottled water, with the exception of natural mineral water, is regulated to the same standard as drinking water. It is best not to use bottled water labelled as ‘Natural Mineral Water’ as it can have high levels of sodium (salt) and other minerals, although it rarely does. ‘Natural Mineral Water’ can be used if no other water is available, for as short a time as possible, as it is important to keep babies hydrated. If bottled water is used to make up infant formula it should be boiled once (rolling boil for 1 minute), and cooled in the normal way. Ready-to-use formula that does not need added water can also be used.

Great care should be taken with boiled water to avoid burns and scalds as accidents can easily happen, especially with children. 

The Framework for the Future Delivery of Water Services:

The Framework for the Future Delivery of Water Services, published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) in June 2022, sets out the next phase in the transformation of the water sector in Ireland whereby Uisce Éireann will assume full responsibility for the delivery of all public water services as the standalone national authority for water services.

Uisce Éireann has been working closely with the local authority representative groups to deliver on the ambition outlined in the framework. The agreed framework guarantees that there will be no change to terms and conditions and that pension benefits will be fully protected for local authority Staff who choose to join Uisce Éireann and this is not the subject of the ongoing dispute.

The Framework protects workers’ terms and conditions, presents each individual with a choice on transferring or not, and provides for a compensation payment for transfer and/or severance. It is an exceptionally favourable package.

Unite represents fewer than 120 workers from the 3,000 local authority employees affected by the transfer to Uisce Éireann.

We want and need as many local authority staff as possible to join Uisce Éireann bringing with them their local knowledge, expertise and dedication to water services combining it with our expertise to build a truly national water services organisation. This will support Uisce Éireann in meeting the challenges of the future from sustainability to climate change and deliver on our ambitious capital programme supporting housing, economic development and job creation right across the country.

All local authority Staff have the option to voluntarily transfer to Uisce Éireann and have up until 2026 to decide to join or to remain working in their local authority outside of water services.

Additional Links and information:

• Boil Water notice webpage: https://www.water.ie/water-supply/water-quality/boil-water-notice/
• Using water during a Boil Water Notice Video: https://youtu.be/7rvA63Cwaic