The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered Uisce Éireann to improve drinking water for half a million people where supplies are not up to standard.
The EPA found that water quality at 45 sources serving 497,000 people across Ireland was inadequate.
For most of the country – over 99.8 percent – drinking water was deemed safe by the EPA. That means water quality was within “bacterial and chemical limits”.
“In 2024 there has been a reduction in the number of people served by supplies on the Remedial Action List – down to almost 497,000 (from 561,000 in 2023)”, the agency says.
In response Uisce Éireann, previously known as Irish Water, said that the EPA report “confirms that Ireland’s public drinking water supplies continue to meet exceptionally high standards”.
The public company says that it invested more €1.3 billion last year in upgrading water and wastewater treatment plants and networks.
Dr Patrick O’Sullivan from Uisce Éireann said that the fall in the number of failing water sources “demonstrates real progress in infrastructure resilience and risk management across the public water supply network.”
Under European law, Ireland is legally obliged to ensure “water intended for human consumption shall be wholesome and clean”.
Water quality data must be compiled every year and shared with the European Commission and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.