Irish water spent €160,000 on supplying water in Achill Island as aluminium levels increased five times

Irish Water, a water utility company in Ireland, has reportedly spent €160,000 on providing water in Achill Island as aluminium levels in the water there surged five times than the recommended levels. Records released by the water utility explained how at one stage aluminium levels in the drinking water rose above 1,000 micrograms per litre when the recommended safe amount is 200 micrograms (max.).

Irish Water said that it gave the contract of water supply to Achill Island during the peak tourist season to a third-party supplier. The total cost of the contract for 28 days was €160,000, or equivalent of more than €5,700 daily.

Internal records suggest that problems in the water have been augmented by frequent bursts on the mains water pipe on Achill whenever the raw water supply was switched off.

An email said: “The plant cannot cope with demand and there’s a serious problem with water quality.”

Levels of aluminium above 800 micrograms per litre are a serious matter of concern.

As a result, Irish Water laid a new pipe on the island to help deliver a continuous supply of water to the Achill water treatment plant.

Internal records also reveal that there has been a 20 per cent increase in demand for water from previous years due to an increase in tourism, with the rising popularity of staycations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hence, the Achill water treatment plant is now the need of an hour and the emerging need for Irish Water should also be considered.

Aluminium sulphate is used to remove impurities by combining them into larger particles, which can be easily extracted. The Achill works had switched from manual to automated application of the coagulant before the increased demand.

A statement from Irish Water said: “[The final bill] included the provision of a number of tankers so customers could access an alternative water supply; mobile tankers which were used to augment supply in a number of reservoirs and the supply of and delivery to the island of over 20,000 bottles of water for distribution to vulnerable customers.”