Achill ‘do not consume’ water notice lifted

AT AN END For the past four weeks residents and visitors to Achill have been relying on water tankers delivering water to locations around the parish of Achill. Pic: Conor McKeown

Edwin McGreal

The ‘do not consume’ water notice that has been in place in Achill for four weeks has been lifted this afternoon (Friday).
Irish Water issued a statement this afternoon to say the notice has been lifted with immediate effect.
Irish Water said that water quality sampling has confirmed the water is now safe to drink ‘following a reduction in demand to normal levels and reduced temperatures in the raw water coming from the lake to the water treatment plant’.
The notice came into effect on Friday, August 7 following elevated levels of aluminium in the water supply.
For the past four weeks residents and visitors to Achill have been relying on water tankers delivering water to locations around the parish of Achill.
Irish Water say they have undertaken some upgrade works at the Acorrymore Water Treatment Plant as a result of what happened.
They explained that if demand in the future rises ‘to an unsustainable level along with a rise in temperatures’, that the plant will shut down to precent any further exceedance.
Irish Water added that all reservoirs in Achill have been cleaned but that customers ‘may experience some intermittent outages this evening and over the weekend as full supply returns to the network following the reservoir cleaning’.
Business customers will receive a 40 per cent rebate on the cost of the supply of water to their businesses for the duration of the do not consume notice and this will be back dated to August 7, 2020, they stated.
“Irish Water and Mayo County Council would like to thank the residents, businesses and visitors to Achill who were affected by this notice for their patience and cooperation until demand and temperatures dropped to normal levels. We would like to thank the public for their efforts in conserving water wherever possible and ask them to continue doing so over the weekend while the network refills following the reservoir cleaning,” said Irish Water’s Asset Operations Lead Ger Greally.