COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, September 12, 2011
QUESTION NO. 17
QUESTION: Councillor G. O'Connell
To ask the Manager for an up to date detailed report on the standard of the drinking water provided by this Council for public consumption and that it include assurances for the public (as the recent EPA report on Irish Drinking Water has caused a certain amount of concern) that it is not in breach of the permitted chemical limits.
REPLY:
The public water supply is monitored to ensure compliance with all water quality legislation and standards. The principle regulations are the EC (Drinking Water) (No.2) Regulations 2007. Samples are taken throughout the South Dublin network and analysed at Dublin City Council’s Central Laboratory at Marrowbone Lane on behalf of South Dublin County Council. In 2010, 268 no. check samples were undertaken across the County and analysed for 12 parameters - mainly key health and aesthetic parameters. An additional 19 audit parameters were undertaken across the County for all 46 chemical, indicator and microbiological parameters specified in the Regulations.
The annual EPA reports on The Quality of Drinking Water in Ireland consistently show that the drinking water standards in South Dublin County are high with respect to public water supplies. A summary of the results of drinking water testing and analysis for the past 6 years is on the Council’s website, and also below. The 2010 annual returns were compiled at the Central Laboratory, and were submitted to the EPA by the deadline of end February 2011.
| Nov ‘10 | Dec ‘10 | Jan ‘11 | Feb ‘11 | Mar ‘11 | Apr ‘11 | May ‘11 | June ‘11 | |
| No of tests performed | 543 | 337 | 485 | 344 | 317 | 220 | 354 | 366 |
| No of non compliant tests | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Percentage compliance | 99.8 | 100 | 99.8 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 99.7 | 99.7% |
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 to MAY | |
| No of tests performed | 3440 | 3927 | 3760 | 3979 | 4151 | 3941 | 1720 |
| No of non compliant tests | 31 | 32 | 32 | 31 | 23 | 8 | 2 |
| Percentage compliance | 99.1% | 99.2% | 99.1% | 99.2 | 99.4% | 99.8% | 99.9% |
The few non compliances noted above are always resampled again after flushing the watermains and are always compliant.
It should also be noted that the number of non compliant samples is steadily declining in recent years showing that the quality of the drinking water in South Dublin County Council is excellent.