Your water supply

A boil water notice is an instruction issued to the public if the water supply within a certain area is not guaranteed to be at the quality standards required by the European Union Drinking Water Regulations 2014 and is not safe to drink without boiling and cooling first. A boil water notice is typically issued following a contamination event within the water supply or a failure in the water treatment process. Boil water notices are both issued and lifted on the advice of and in consultation with the HSE.

If you have received a boil water notice and have any queries or concerns about your water supply, please call us on 1850 278 278. View our video below to find out how to use water safely during a boil water notice.

Boiling the drinking water by bringing it to a vigorous, rolling boil (e.g. with an automatic kettle) and allowing it to cool will kill any harmful bacteria and pathogens. It is advisable to fill a container with the boiled water, cover and store in a refrigerator or cold place. Great care should be taken with boiled water to avoid burns and scalds. Accidents can easily happen, especially with children

N.B. Water from the hot tap is not safe to drink. Also, Irish Water cannot vouch for the ability of any domestic water filters to remove harmful bacteria - therefore it is advisable that water should be boiled even if these are in place. View our video below to find out more.

What you should use cooled boiled water for

• Drinking
• Drinks made with water
• Preparation of salads and similar foods, which are not cooked before eating
• Brushing of teeth or gargling
• Making ice - discard existing ice cubes and make ice from cooled boiled water
• Filtered water - pour out any filtered water in fridges and use cooled boiled water

What you do not need cooled boiled water for

• Personal hygiene, such as showering and bathing
• Toilet flushing

Child and infant care during a boil water notice

Bathing

If you are bathing children please ensure that they do not swallow the bath water.

Preparing feeds and baby bottles

Irish Water has received the following advice from the HSE on this matter

Where a Boil Water Notice is in place, you can prepare infant formula from tap water that has been boiled once (rolling boil for 1 minute) and cooled beforehand. Bottled water can also be used to make up infant formula. All bottled water, with the exception of natural mineral water, is regulated to the same standard as drinking water. It is best not to use bottled water labelled as ‘Natural Mineral Water’ as it can have high levels of sodium (salt) and other minerals, although it rarely does. ‘Natural Mineral Water’ can be used if no other water is available, for as short a time as possible, as it is important to keep babies hydrated.

If bottled water is used to make up infant formula it should be boiled once (rolling boil for 1 minute), and cooled in the normal way.

Ready-to-use formula that does not need added water can also be used.

If you have received a boil water notice and have any queries or concerns about your water supply, please call us on 1850 278 278.

Before planned works take place, follow these steps to help avoid issues with your water supply.

It is recommended that you fill containers of fresh water to use before or during an outage.

View our video below to find out more.

Do

• Keep taps turned off
• Try to conserve the water in your storage tank as it may result in an airlock if it empties (e.g. avoid flushing your toilet)

Do not

• Drink from the hot water or bathroom taps
• Use any dishwashers/washing machines or any other equipment dependent on constant water flow while the water is not running from the cold kitchen tap
• Use any gas, oil or electrical appliances that you will use to heat your water, such as an immersion heater
• Use central heating systems during the period when the water is off. However, if you are unsure please refer to your manufacturer’s guide or contact your heating service provider

If your cold tap is working but your hot tap is not, then you may have an airlock in your internal plumbing. Check out our video or visit the link below for tips to find out how you can check for and clear an airlock. View our video below to find out how to check for and clear an airlock.

If your cold tap is working but your hot tap is not, then you may have an airlock in your internal plumbing. View our video and follow our tips below to find out how you can check for and clear an airlock

Firstly, make sure all the hot taps in the house are turned off. Then, depending on the type of tap in the kitchen, please follow either Option 1 or Option 2.

OPTION 1: Separate hot and cold taps in the kitchen

If the hot and cold taps in the kitchen are separate i.e. not combined in a mixer tap, the hot tap should be turned on. If there is an airlock, no water will come from the hot tap. To clear the airlock please follow the steps below:

1. Turn off both taps
2. Connect both taps with a hose
3. Turn on hot tap first and then cold tap. Turning on the cold tap will result in the cold water being forced through the hot water system and this will force the air which is causing the airlock back into the water tank in the attic.
4. Let the cold tap run for 1 – 2 minutes, then turn off both taps & remove the hose
5. Let the hot tap run for 1 – 2 minutes to confirm that the air lock is cleared

If the air lock is not cleared, repeat the procedure one or two times more

If this is not successful, contact a registered plumber to correct the problem. In rare cases the cold water taps in wash hand basins or the bath may also be air locked. This procedure will also work for them but is more difficult as a long length of hose is necessary from the kitchen cold tap to the nearest wash hand basin or bath tap.

OPTION 2: Combined/mixer tap in the kitchen

If there is a mixer tap in the kitchen, please follow the steps below:

1. Turn on the hot tap
2. With a cloth in your hand (to help reduce water squirting out) block the tap and turn on the cold water tap gently. This should force the cold water back through the hot water system, forcing the air into the water tank in the attic. Care should be exercised when doing this in case of accidental scalding with hot water.
3. Let the cold tap run for 1 – 2 minutes, then turn off both taps
4. Let the hot tap run for 1 – 2 minutes to confirm that the air lock is cleared

If the air lock is not cleared, repeat the procedure one or two times more

If this is not successful, contact a registered plumber to correct the problem. In rare cases the cold water taps in wash hand basins or the bath may also be air locked, this procedure will also work for them.

There are a number of reasons why you may experience no water or very low pressure to your property. View our video and follow the steps below to help you find out why

During planned works you may experience a disruption to your water supply. To check if there are works taking place in your area, visit our Water Supply Updates page or visit Twitter at @IWCare.

Check with your neighbours to see if they are also experiencing issues. If they are, there may an issue with the public water mains. If not, it is likely there is an issue with your internal pipework.

If there are no works taking place and you have no water coming from the cold water tap in your kitchen sink, there may be an issue with the public water mains in your area such as a burst pipe affecting your water supply. Call us on 1850 278 278 and we will investigate.

If the cold water tap in your kitchen sink is working but the hot water tap and/or the taps in your bathroom sink are not, then you may have an airlock in your internal plumbing. If this is the case please visit our Airlocks page. If after repeating these steps a number of times and you still have no water, you will need to call a plumber.

When the outside temperature drops below zero, unprotected pipes and dripping taps can freeze and crack affecting the water supply to your property. For advice, visit our page on What to do if you have frozen or burst pipes.

To find out what is causing your drinking water to be white or cloudy in appearance, you can try this simple test:

• Fill a glass of water from the cold tap in the kitchen of your home
• Leave to stand for a few minutes
• Then check it for the following:

If the water clears from the bottom of the glass upwards then air bubbles are causing the cloudiness. The bubbles clear as they rise upwards from the bottom of the glass.

If the water clears from the top of the glass downwards, the cloudiness or white colour may be due to limescale. This is found in areas of hard water

Your drinking water may pass through several kilometres of pipework before it reaches your home. Some of this pipework may be constructed from cast iron and depending on the area can be up to 100 years old. Old cast iron mains typically suffer from corrosion and as a result sediment from these pipes can be dislodged as water passes through them. Find out more in our video below.

Most of the time, the drinking water passes over this sediment unchanged. However changes in flow, pressure or direction can dislodge this sediment and carry it through to your tap. This can cause your water to appear as brown or orange in colour. This discolouration is more likely to occur when repair or maintenance works are being carried out on the pipes.

Drinking water should be clear and colourless in appearance. If your water has suddenly changed in colour to orange or brown, we would encourage you to run your tap for a number of minutes to see if it returns to a clear colour. If running your tap does not restore the clear colour, please contact us on 1850 278 278 and we will ensure it is promptly investigated.