Frustration as tapwater in Clogh back in murky territory

Local man Joseph Kavanagh sent us this picture of his tapwater from Clogh, North Kilkenny this morning.

Discolouration of the water has been an issue in the area for many decades, but last year, an investment was made and Irish Water carried out works 'aimed at tackling the issue in the short to medium term'. A number of months on, the interim solution does not seem to have the desired effect.

"It's disappointing it hasn't been resolved - clothes are being stained in the wash, and people are having to buy bottled water," says Mr Kavanagh.

"I'd welcome anybody who is responsible for this water - council or Irish Water - to drink a glass of it themselves. It's totally unacceptable."

The ice pigging works  carried out in Clogh last year were mooted as a solution to the problem. Ice-Pigging is a pipeline cleaning process in which an ice slurry solution is pumped into a pipeline under pressure to remove built-up sediment and  Manganese deposits.

Irish Water at the time said it would continue to examine solutions to address this problem in the longer term, including the option of identifying a new source of raw water. "However this is a long-term investment requiring significant forward planning, design and lead-in time," it said.

Mr Kavanagh says that local people hope to be given a full solution to address the discolouration issue which refuses to go away.