RE: Lead in Drinking Water South Dublin County Council

In response to some queries from members of the public, the Council wishes to clarify the position regarding the presence of lead in drinking water.

For many years lead was used in the manufacture of small diameter water supply pipes. This means that in many properties built prior to the 1960s part, or all, of the water supply pipe from the watermain in the street to the property as well as the internal plumbing in buildings may be made of lead.

The Dublin Regions drinking water does not contain lead when it leaves the water treatment plants. In fact lime is added during the treatment process to limit the amount of lead that can be dissolved from any lead pipes through which the water will travel.

The quality of the Dublin Regions drinking water is monitored on an on-going basis at the customers tap and on those infrequent occasions when the level of lead detected exceeds the permissible limit that section of lead pipe in the public area is replaced by the Council. The owner/occupier of the property is also made aware of the situation and advised to replace any lead pipe in their internal plumbing system. Any internal work to be done will be the responsibility of the property owner/occupier.

Anyone who may have concerns about the possibility of lead being present in their water supply can take some simple short term precautions:

• Do not drink water that has been standing in the pipes for long periods, for example overnight. In these circumstances, clear the standing water by flushing a toilet or filling a bowl from the kitchen tap. Dont waste the water, use it on the garden or for something else other than drinking or cooking.

• Do not drink water from the bathroom taps as it may be fed from a storage tank rather than directly off the mains.

Ends