Written Answers. - Water Supply Contamination.
Ivan Yates
Question:
350
Mr. Yates
asked the
Minister for the Environment and Local Government
if his attention has been drawn to the news reports of e-coli contamination in drinking water; and the steps he is taking to ensure that this health hazard is effectively dealt with.
[25071/00]
Statutory responsibility for the provision of drinking water supplies and for upholding the prescribed quality standards rests with sanitary authorities. Stringent standards for coliform levels in drinking water are prescribed in the European Communities (Quality of Water Intended for Human Consumption) Regulations, 1988 (S.I. No. 81 of 1988). Article 4 of these regulations places a duty on sanitary authorities to take the necessary measures to ensure that water intended for human consumption meets these standards. This duty is performed under the general supervision of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The agency publishes a report annually on the quality of drinking water in Ireland and a copy of the most recent report, in relation to 1998, is available in the Oireachtas Library. The report for 1999 is being prepared for publication during the current year. These provide detailed information on water quality by reference to all the prescribed parameters. The report for 1998 found the overall quality of public drinking water supplies to be satisfactory but noted a high level of non-compliance in relation to private group water supplies serving some 5% of households, many of which receive inadequate or no treatment. The group scheme sector is the subject of a comprehensive programme of measures for improvement under the rural water programme.
The parameters of most importance for all drinking water supplies are total and faecal coliforms. A zero standard is prescribed in relation to total and faecal coliforms. The presence of one coliform renders a sample non-compliant.
The EPA report for 1998 indicates that there is virtually full compliance with the total and faecal coliforms standards in the largest public supplies, supplying the largest proportion of the population, with non-compliance recorded in some smaller public supplies. It also states that 92% of public supplies examined are free of all coliforms and that two-fifths of the remainder are free of faecal coliforms. To date, this is the highest rate of compliance achieved. Many of the non-compliant samples fail to comply only because of the presence, generally in extremely small numbers, of total coliforms unaccompanied by faecal coliforms. It is, nevertheless, unacceptable that any supplies should contain non-faecal and faecal coliforms and I will continue to impress upon sanitary authorities the need to put the necessary measures in place to secure full compliance with water quality standards. As I indicated, a comprehensive programme of measures is in place to address water quality problems in private group schemes under the rural water programme.
E-coli 0157 is a particular type of faecal coliform which can cause serious illness in humans. Contamination by E-coli 0157 generally arises in relation to infection throughout the food chain and, in so far as I am aware, the presence of E-coli 0157 has not been detected in any drinking water supplies in Ireland. Advice and information leaflets are available from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland on measures that should be taken to prevent the spread of E-coli 0157 infection in the home and elsewhere.
