There are three weeks remaining to make a submission on Irish Water’s Draft Lead in Drinking Water Mitigation Plan.
Irish Water is urging members of the public to have their say on this issue that affects up to 180,000 households around the country. The 8 week public consultation period will end on Wednesday September 21st.
Anyone interested can view the draft Plan and associated environmental reports online or watch the video below. During working hours the Plan is available to view at the planning counters of the Local Authority offices.
Exposure to lead is a known serious health risk particularly affecting pregnant women and young children. In recent decades, lead has been removed from petrol and paint. Since then, Irish people have limited exposure to lead except in drinking water where people with lead plumbing in their home can be exposed to low concentrations of lead as it dissolves in drinking water passing through lead pipework on its way to the tap.
The Draft Lead in Drinking Water Mitigation Plan is the result of major surveys of the issue, review of international practise, consultation on the issues with key health, environmental and other stakeholders. The plan includes much more widespread sampling which is used to inform the public of the risk and help prioritise Irish Water actions. Irish Water is now targeting over 35,000 random samples of water quality annually compared with 3,000 previously.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im3XvBkiFJM&feature=youtu.be