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A Government strategy to deal with lead contamination in the water supply of up to 200,000 Irish households is expected to be agreed at today’s Cabinet meeting.

Irish Water said any building that pre-dates 1970 has a good chance of being affected.

Lead Contamination

It is reported the heavy metal element has already been detected in the pipes leading to 75,000 homes, or 5% of the total around the country.

The problem is being described as a “public health risk”, and will see a new grant rolled out for some low-income households to fund repairs.

The harmful metal is particularly dangerous to young children and pregnant women, so pipes in aging school and hospital buildings are also of concern.

This could result in the presence of lead in the drinking water. Householders could be facing bills worth thousands of euro to replace lead water pipes in their homes.

Irish Water says this is the first step in engagement with approximately 26,000 customers identified as potentially having lead pipes in their properties.

Irish Water says houses built up to and including the 1970s could have lead pipes, and there are a number of measures people can take to eliminate or limit the amount of lead in the drinking water.

It is expected the government will consider a National Lead in Water Mitigation Strategy later today.

The company says if people are unsure, they can contact Irish Water on 1890-278-278, or 01-707-2828.

Some 1.35 million people will begin paying for their water from October 1, less than two weeks’ time.

Fianna Fail environment spokesman Barry Cowen said that anyone at risk of contamination should not have to pay for their water. “This is all part of the audit that should have been done to classify all the network across the country and grade it accordingly, and only allow people to be charged after the problems are fixed,” he said.

“There should no charge for households with lead pipes to such an extent that they pose a risk of contamination.”

Homeowners are responsible for maintaining internal pipes on their property, including replacing lead pipes from the main stopcock to the house. Irish Water is responsible for the connection between the mains and the stopcock.

The Department of the Environment said no grants were available for private homeowners to carry out the works, and none were being considered.

Irish Water is also examining if the water can be treated to reduce the amount of lead being absorbed into household water supplies, as currently happens in Dublin since the 1980s.

In many cases, the problem is the internal plumbing in pipes on private property. Public pipes, including those in backyards, would be replaced, but it would take up to 10 years to identify and rectify the problem.

“It’s high levels of exposure over time which are of concern. There is no lead in the major mains or distribution network, and the problem is in the tens of kilometres. We’re working with the HSE and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to manage the risk without scaring people,” a spokeswoman said.

A householder can check if they have lead pipes by examining the pipes under a sink to see if they are a dull grey colour and mark easily when pressed by a knife.

Tips to Protect your Home from Water Damage

Water damage is one of the most common and costly disasters affecting homeowners. Think about how many hours you are away from your home. Whether it is going to work every day, a weekend getaway, or a family holiday, many of us are gone for an extended period of time. Now, imagine how you would feel if you came home after a nice relaxing holiday or a weekend getaway to find water in your bedroom with the ceiling collapsed, or water running down your stairs.

Causes of Water Damage

This is a list of the common causes of plumbing leaks that lead to water damage in our homes.

Whether you experience a huge water leak or a small unnoticed water leak, the damage can be devastating. Here is a list of things you can do to protect your home from water damage.

Check hoses on a regular basis:
It is recommended to check hoses that lead to your washing machine, dishwasher, and refrigerator on an annual basis, looking for cracks or water leaks.

Check showers and baths:
Make sure the sealant around your showers and bath are watertight. If you see cracks in the sealant , replace it. Sealant is very inexpensive and can prevent water from seeping into your floor.

Know where and how to shut off your water main:
If a pipe suddenly bursts in your home, it is important to know how to shut off the water supply. In most situations, shutting off the water main will stop the flow of water. Know where to find your stopcock and use it to cut off the flow of water if a pipe starts leaking.

Fix any dripping taps:
Fix any dripping taps as soon as possible to avoid a more a serious escape of water.

Preventing frozen pipes:
Insulate external pipes and any internal ones that are exposed to freezing, make sure you also insulate the corners and elbows of pipework as these tend to be the most exposed. In cold weather, check all your taps in your home from time to time. If little or no water flows there may be frozen water in the pipes.

Winter Boiler Safety & Maintenance Tips

Boiler Safety is very important with winter rolling in it is only natural that people will need to use their home heating systems more often. What a great many people do not seem to realise is that heating systems which have been left idle for many months may no longer work properly and, in some cases, may even be dangerous to operate.

Boiler Safety

This is why having an annual boiler service done by a trained professional is so important. Before the cold of winter sets in is considered by many to be the best time to have a boiler serviced as it makes sure that the system is in tip top condition for when it is needed the most. Not only will this guarantee that your heating system runs at its optimum levels of output, but also ensure that it can be operated in a safe fashion. One thing which a lot of people do not realise is that any heating system which burns fuel (ie: not just gas based ones) has the potential to leak carbon monoxide, a very poisonous gas which is notoriously hard to detect. Leaking gas equipment also has the potential to catch fire or, in some extreme cases, cause an explosion.

Among the most problematic parts of a boiler (which need the most attention) are flues and furnace filters. Piping, when left unattended for extended periods of time, can become clogged, reducing the boiler’s overall efficiency and safety. One of the main causes of such clogging is spiders and insects taking up residency in the piping and getting stuck there. As such, an essential part of any boiler service is the cleaning out of said pipes.

It is also worth considering, as an extra safety precaution, installing thermometers to monitor the temperature of your boiler’s flue. If you notice any abnormal flue temperatures then there is, more than likely, a problem with your boiler and you should contact your registered gas installer immediately to have your boiler system inspected. This will ensure that whatever problem is occurring will be rectified straight away.

Water Charges to be Even More Expensive Than Feared

In a piece of news that is bound to engage people across Ireland, it has emerged that the daily water allowance, which was widely bandied about by Irish politicians in the run up to the recent elections (both local and European), will, in fact, be significantly less than the quoted 104 litres (which works out as being 380,000 litres per year) when the water charges come into effect this October.

Costs of Water Charges

What is particularly irksome about this latest development is that Irish Water has been vague, to say the least, as to what the new allowance actually is. When pressed, the only answer that the water meter installing company was wiling to give out was that their research had suggested that Irish children (ie: anyone aged 17 or under – approximately one million citizens) use considerably less water than they had anticipated. However, they did not go into any great detail as to how much the difference was. The source of Irish Water’s data is said to be the readings that they have made based on the water meters which they have installed around the country already. Many have criticised Irish Water’s ‘research’ and conclusions, maintaining that they are jumping the gun and using small sample sizes (1,650 households were measured) over a very short period of time in order to unfairly justify increasing their prices. Irish Water maintains that their calculations contain only a 3% margin of error.

The first metered water bills are due to hit Irish households in January 2014 at an annual cost of €240 per anum once the water meters have been in place for a full year (see: The Actual Cost of Water Charges).

Irish Water is scheduled to submit its new Water Charges Plan (which is based on their own recent findings) to the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) tomorrow (Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014) with the CER to publish said data soon after. Critics of Irish Water and their plans have angrily questioned why such research, which directly and financially effects all the citizens of Ireland, could not have been carried out by a team of independent researchers with no vested interest in the matter. The Zeitgeist of the situation seems to be of the opinion that any research on the matter conducted by Irish Water themselves could easily be cherry picked in order to help Irish Water maximise their profits at the expense of the Irish taxpayer.

Predictably, big name politicians (who incidentally have big wages and are unlikely to feel the pinch of Irish Water’s new price plan) have all come out in defense of Irish Water’s actions in recent times, with Environment Minister Phil Hogan being the most vocal of the scheme’s defenders. In May, both he and An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny both individually claimed that water will be “effectively” free to children. The consistent use of the word ‘effectively’ had caused many to take their claims with a hefty and cynical lump of salt at the time. Irish Water’s latest moving of the goalposts would imply that the cynics among us were right not to take their words at face value.

Hogan had also claimed at the time that there would be no compulsory standing charge for water usage. It would appear though, that the plan was originally to have had such a charge of €50 but this was scrapped due to public outrage and lobbying.

It would appear that no one (in the standard bill paying public at least) knows exactly what Irish Water truly has in store for us in terms of metered water charges. We should have a better idea about them by tomorrow when CER announces their findings. If there is one thing that we can be certain of, it is that the news will not be good.