Limerick County Council and Clare County Council confirmed this evening, following consultation with the Health Service Executive, that a precautionary boil notice has been put in place in Montpelier, O’Briensbridge and Bridgetown.The notice, which affects approximately 500 individuals, was issued after Limerick County Council’s Water Services section detected a deterioration in water quality in the Montpelier Water Supply Scheme, which serves all three villages.
The Councils are advising members of the public served by the Scheme not to drink the water except under the following conditions and for the following purposes:
- 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. (Tea or coffee made with water which has boiled is safe to drink)
- 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, internal house plumbing and for personal hygiene and bathing. Vulnerable users, those persons with poor kidney function, renal failure and particularly those on renal dialysis are advised to source alternative drinking water until further advised.
Members of the public are requested to advise the County Council of elderly or disabled residents, who may require special assistance. The Council has also asked for information on unoccupied residences and how the occupier or owner maybe contacted.
