The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that lead contamination of drinking water in parts of Galway is “complex”, and cannot be attributed solely to the chemical composition of water from a county reservoir.
The agency was responding to claims that the problem may be traced back to last year's contamination of supplies by
cryptosporidium, and the subsequent decision to draw supplementary water for the city from Luimnagh in the north of the county.
The pH level of water in Luimnagh is lower than that from the Corrib system, and could therefore have been more acidic and more reactive to lead within the water distribution network and internal plumbing. Fine Gael councillor Brian Walsh has said
EPA programme manager Gerard O'Leary told
The Irish Timesthat Luimnagh was "likely to be a consideration" but was "unlikely to be the full extent of the problem".
"We expect Galway City Council to take a number of measures, and pH correction on its own won't be enough. All local authorities also have to be aware that the maximum lead limit is going to be significantly lower from 2013,"Mr O'Leary said.
The local authority says it is taking measures to "minimise the interaction between the treated water supply and the old lead pipe network, including adjustment of the pH level of the water at the city's treatment plant".
Medical testing of residents in 12 houses which have been identified as having elevated lead levels was continuing today at Merlin Park Hospital. A special city council meeting is being held on the issue this evening, just hours before the official opening of the Galway Oyster Festival.