Householders in Ballina sloe, Co Galway, have been advised not to drink their domestic water due to the discovery of E.coli bacteria following the contamination of the town's main water supply.
It is believed the supply became contaminated about 10 days ago when builders working on a water mains hit a sewage pipe in the town.
The Urban District Council circulated householders this week informing them of the contamination. They have been advised to boil the water and to use bottled water for teeth brushing, salad washing, and for making ice cubes, until the problem is rectified.
The UDC is currently flushing out the water mains each night and has increased the chlorine supply to counteract the E.coli bacteria. The town engineer, Mr Michael Sheil, confirmed there had been a low level of contamination of the water supply.
"In order to achieve a standard for potable water, we have to maintain a prescribed residual chlorine level in the public water supply combined with three consecutive daily test results free of contamination," he said.
Mr Sheil said special drinking water tanks would be provided for members of the public at a number of locations around the town. This water was being transported from a rural water supply at Kilconnell, about 11 miles away.
"This remediation process is taking a greater amount of time than could have been anticipated initially," he said. "The council regrets the inconvenience caused to the general public and we assure you that we are doing everything in our power to rectify the current situation."
This is the second such occurrence in Co Galway this summer, as householders were advised not to drink tap water following an "extremely slight" contamination of the city's water supply in early July.