Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 15 Apr 1997

Vol. 477 No. 5

Written Answers. - Water Quality.

Batt O'Keeffe

Question:

20 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for the Environment if the monitoring programme has been expanded to include all public water supplies in view of the fact that only a limited number of water supplies were analysed for biocides and that in County Cork, 20 per cent, that is, one in five water bodies, were unfit for human consumption with levels 15 times the regulatory limit, EU Directive 80/778/EEC for pesticides; and the measures, if any, he has taken to ensure that local authorities carry out their statutary function in this area and routinely check for hazardous, banned substances. [9012/97]

Minister for the Environment (Mr. Howlin)

I assume that the question refers to the survey of pesticide levels countrywide which the Environmental Protection Agency has undertaken in accordance with its statutory responsibilities for the monitoring of drinking water. The agency's report, entitled Pesticides in Drinking Waters (1996), is available in the Oireachtas Library.

The Environmental Protection Agency survey checked for the presence of 38 pesticide compounds, selected on the basis of their use in Ireland, in a total of 251 samples of drinking water and entailing over 3,300 individual analyses. This represented data from a total of 139 water supplies serving approximately 1.8 million consumers. No evidence of presistent background contamination by any of the target pesticide compounds was found. In three samples, including one from County Cork, pesticide residues in excess of the 0.1 microgrammes per litre limit specified in the European Communities (Quality of Water Intended for Human Consumption) Regulations, 1988 were detected. In these cases, the supplies were re-sampled and found to be clear of residues.

The survey was the first to provide a national overview of pesticide levels in drinking water in Ireland. In view of the satisfactory position disclosed in relation to the quality of supplies, the carrying out of more comprehensive monitoring of pesticide levels in drinking water would not be justified at this stage. The Environmental Protection Agency intends, however, to keep the position under review and to carry out such further monitoring as may be appropriate.