Irish Water and Galway County Council have issued a boil water notice for customers of the Kilconnell Public Water Supply and Ballyboggan Group Water Scheme with immediate effect.
The boil water notice is being sent out to customers drawing from the Kilconnell Public Water Supply after consultations with the HSE about elevated levels of turbidity in the raw water.
Turbidity is a measurement of how cloudy or hazy water is, caused by a large amount of particles in the water individually invisible to the naked eye.
Water being used for drinking, cooking, preparing baby formula or brushing teeth/gargling should be brought to a boil for at least one minute before it can be considered safe to use.
It’s not necessary to boil water for bathing or to water plants, though extra care should be taken when bathing infants to make sure they don’t swallow any water.
Irish Water is warning that standard household water filters won’t be effective in purifying the affected water, nor should hot water from taps be considered safe to drink.
Anyone who has concerns about whether it’s safe for their pets to drink water from the tap should consult with their vet.
There’s no further information yet about when the boil notice might be lifted, though Irish Water have said that they will continue to consult with the HSE to normalise water supplies as soon as possible.
