THE DEPARTMENT of the Environment has approved the cost of replacing lead piping in Galway city's water system.
However, details of financing "still have to be determined", according to Galway City Council, which says there are considerable engineering difficulties involved.
The public distribution network in Old Mervue - said to be the only lead mains in the city - is expected to take two to five years to replace.
Normally, the cost of replacing lead plumbing in individual houses is the responsibility of the home owner, but these details still have to be considered, according to the local authority.
Houses built before 1970 in a number of areas of the city may be affected by this, if they have not been refurbished in recent years.
Consultants have been hired by the city council to tackle the "medium-term" element of an action programme agreed by the city council, in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Health Service Executive (HSE) West.
Two separate sets of consultants are engaged on pH correction, and on investigating additional treatment of water to try to minimise the impact of lead piping. A water chemist has also been employed to examine specific issues relating to treatment, according to the city council director of services, Ciarán Hayes.
The "short-term" measure of supplying alternative water is now fully in place, the city council says.
Tanker water has been supplied to Old Mervue, where residents have been advised not to drink or boil the water for consumption, and a scheme of purchasing two bottles of water for the price of one is being extended to five areas - Old Mervue, Shantalla, Bohermore, the Claddagh and the West.
The West did not show up as critical in additional testing done by the HSE West in August, but much of the housing there dates back a century.
Pregnant women and parents of infants have been advised to take particular care in the bottled water they purchase. Suitable waters include brands with a sodium content of less than 20mg per litre, HSE West says. The sodium content is written on the side of the bottle as "Sodium" or "Na", followed by a number.
HSE West has asked for public co-operation in further water tests being carried out in Galway, and has also appealed to people not to visit the public analyst's laboratory with water samples due to the volume of work there.
The EPA said this week that some "99 per cent" of samples taken in 944 public water supplies in the State are "compliant" with the current lead standard of a maximum of 25 micrograms per litre.