Water pollution on the wane in Ireland, study shows

Cases of water pollution in Ireland appear to be in decline, as a new study indicated that levels of E. coli in drinking water have fallen.

The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has suggested that for the first time ever, Ireland has similar compliance rates to England, Wales and Holland in restricting the flow of the bacteria into drinking water supplies.

E. coli was detected at least once in 20 out of 929 public water supplies, which was down from 27 in 2009. E. coli denotes whether human or animal waste is present in the water.

The figure has fallen every year since 2004 and EPA director general Dara Lynott suggested water remediation work which started in 2008 will be complete across 80 per cent of supplies by the end of the year.

"Ensuring that our drinking water is of the highest quality is vital for public health, for our food industry, for tourism, and for inward investment," he commented.

Industry regulator Ofwat recently stated water treatment in England and Wales is as good as anywhere else in Europe.

Posted by Joseph Hutton