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Lead in Our Water in Phibsborough

It is clear from the interest at my recent public meeting that lead in the water in Phibsborough is a significant issue for our community which requires urgent attention from Irish Water. 

I have some updates and advice below about steps you can take to test and respond to lead in the water.

Irish Water response

  • On foot of our plea to Irish Water, they will conduct targeted testing in the Phibsborough and Drumcondra area over the coming weeks. 200 older properties will be tested with one third of the homes to be in the Phibsborough area. This is a positive step that will hopefully go some way to establish the extent of the problem. We will update you on this as soon as we get more information from Irish Water.

  • In 2027/2028, Irish Water will commence orthophosphate dosing through the water mains to reduce lead in our water. This is welcome but it is obviously some time away and does not deal with the immediate concerns regarding water quality across each of our households.  

Testing for individual homes - HSE testing 

The HSE lab in Dublin 2 can test your water supply based on the following instruction;

  1. Obtain two 1L bottle samples. Any cleaned out bottle will do. 

  2. First sample: take this first thing in the morning from your cold kitchen tap. 

  3. Second sample: sample taken after running the tap for a few minutes. 

  4. Then bring the labelled samples and €10 cash to HSE Public Lab, Sir Patrick Duns, Lower Grand Canal Street, Dublin 2. 

Grants for replacement of pipes

  • Dublin City Council Lead Pipe Replacement Grant: this will cover the cost of replacing pipes within a home of up to €5000 - these works must be paid for and completed before the grant is awarded. More information here: Lead Pipe Replacement Grant | Dublin City Council 

  • Irish Water Costumer Opt-in Replacement Scheme: a free of charge       service to replace pipes on the public side. You must apply for the Irish     Water Costumer Opt-in before any works are commenced. That form is located here: Customer-Opt-in-Lead-Pipe-Scheme-2016. For more       information, please call Irish Water on 1850 278 278. 

Installation of water filter in your kitchen

  • The installation of a tap filter is a more immediate, cheaper and less disruptive course of action in trying to reduce lead levels in your water consumption. There are variety of suppliers out there. A typical reverse osmosis filter that goes under your kitchen sink costs somewhere in the range of €450 plus. There is then an annual cost of replacement of   the filter of approximately €100. Please note these are only guide prices   and suppliers will vary!

We await the Irish Water results. However, it is becoming clear to us that a significant programme of investment by Irish Water will be needed to ensure all water supply pipes are lead free.

Please feel free to contact my office should you need any support on marie@mariesherlock.ie or (01) 618 4564.