Statutory responsibility for the provision of drinking water supplies and for upholding the prescribed quality standards rests with sanitary authorities. Stringent drinking water standards are prescribed in the European Communities (Quality of Water Intended for Human Consumption) Regulations, 1988. The duty placed on sanitary authorities to take the necessary measures to ensure that drinking water meets these standards is performed under the general supervision of the EPA. The most recent EPA report on Drinking Water Quality in Ireland 1998-2000 is available in the Oireachtas Library. The report is based on the results of 141,955 individual tests on 22,801 samples of drinking water taken from 2,559 supplies.
The report concludes that the overall quality of drinking water from public supplies nationally continues to be satisfactory. The EPA places a strong emphasis on the need to tackle deficiencies in a small number of public supplies which have been identified as frequently breaching water quality standards and exhorts local authorities to adopt corrective action programmes in relation to the relevant water treatment plants. In 2001, the EPA undertook 11 random audits on sanitary authorities, including Cork County Council, focusing in particular on the management of reported non-compliance with the drinking water standards. An analysis of the overall findings of these audits is included in the EPA Report. The EPA has undertaken to mention in future reports the extent to which deficiencies identified by their audits have been addressed. This is a welcome measure, which should serve to promote improved performance by sanitary authorities.
It is a matter of serious concern that any supply of drinking water is deficient in quality and, accordingly, the National Development Plan 2000-2006 provides for large-scale investment in water services, including a particular focus on the provision of additional water treatment and distribution capacity, the maintenance of water quality standards, water conservation and leakage reduction, and network rehabilitation.