Boil water notices and water disruption on way at 12 local authorities facing strikes

Twelve local authorities are facing a disruption of water services later this week with boil water notices to be issued due to industrial action by the Unite Trade Union. 

Uisce Éireann confirmed it is aware of planned industrial action, arising from a dispute between the Unite Trade Union and a number of Local Authorities (LAs).

As a result, boil water notices will be in place in areas of Waterford and Tipperary for several days and there is the potential for some disruption to water services in a number of counties on Thursday 13 and Friday 14 July 2023.

Uisce Éireann said having reviewed the impact of strike action and the resulting risk to water quality has taken steps to protect public health with several water treatment plants in Waterford and Tipperary going on precautionary boil water notices from midnight Wednesday (00.01 Thursday).  

The plants on a precautionary boil water notices in Waterford and Tipperary are: Adamstown, Stradbally, Ballylaneen, Crotty’s Lake, Templetney, Glenary and Poulavanogue.

There may also be some disruption to water services, in particular, the speed at which bursts to the water network are repaired in some other counties impacted by the strike action - Cork City, Cork County, Kerry, Fingal, South Dublin County Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Louth, Carlow, Galway City and Wexford.

A spokesperson for Uisce Éireann said its priority remains the protection of public health and the environment through the delivery of safe, secure and sustainable water services where possible during this dispute and "we will do everything within our power to maintain safe water services where possible".

Tom Cuddy, head of operations for Uisce Éireann said: “We would appeal to Unite to engage with the relevant representative bodies and avoid putting the water supply and wastewater service for homes and businesses at risk. While Uisce Éireann is not a party to the dispute our Incident Management Team is continuing to assess the potential impact of industrial action and we are working closely with management in the Local Authorities to put appropriate plans in place to minimise and manage any disruptions to water and wastewater services.

“Our expectation was that the core activities of water services are regarded as essential services and should be exempt from industrial action. However, neither Uisce Éireann nor the local authorities have been able to get clarity through the Unite Strike Committees, that they will continue to operate critical treatment plants or respond to emergencies. Unfortunately, Uisce Éireann has no choice but to put several boil water notices in place to protect public health. The boil water notices may run for several days as we will need time to assess the impacts on treatment plants and processes post-strike," Mr Cuddy said. 

Full details on the areas impacted by boil water notices are also issued locally and on the Uisce Éireann website.

Should further interruptions to local water services occur, Uisce Éireann says it will provide updates and all details will be available on www.water.ie and via Twitter @IW_Care.

Customers with specific queries or concerns should contact their 24/7 customer contact centre at 1800 278 278.