Wicklow County Council yesterday advised householders in the village of Glenealy that the tap water supply which had been contaminated by e-coli was now safe to drink. The source of the pollution remains unidentified.
Some 50 households in the village had suffered pollution of their supply since mid-September. The council issued warning notices on September 28th advising householders to boil water thoroughly before drinking it. Further testing revealed the position had worsened and on October 5th the council advised local people not to consume the water at all.
According to resident Mr Ron Black, householders were angered by the length of time the pollution was allowed to continue. Mr Black's wife, Annette, told East Coast Radio that local people had been unable to wash for the past 12 days.
Wicklow County Council provided a water tanker in the village to maintain a supply of drinking water.