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Lead in Drinking Water

For many years lead was used in the manufacture of small diameter water supply pipes.  This means that in many properties built prior to the 1960’s part, or all, of the water supply pipe from the watermain in the street to the property as well as the internal plumbing in buildings may be made of lead.

Dublin’s drinking water does not contain lead when it leaves the water treatment plants.  In fact lime is added during the treatment process to limit the amount of lead that can be dissolved from any lead pipes through which the water will travel.

The quality of Dublin’s drinking water is monitored on an on-going basis and on those infrequent occasions when the level of lead detected at the customer’s tap exceeds the permissible limit, the section of lead pipe on the public network is replaced by the Council. The owner/occupier of the property is also made aware of the situation and advised to replace any lead pipe in their internal plumbing system.  Any internal work to be done will be at the expense of the property owner/occupier.

Anyone who has concerns about the possibility of lead being present in their supply can take some simple short term precautions:

• Do not drink water that has been standing in the pipes for long periods, for example overnight. In these circumstances, clear the standing  water by flushing a toilet or filling a bowl from the kitchen tap. Don’t waste the water, use it on the garden or for something else other than drinking or cooking.

• Do not drink water from the bathroom taps as it may be fed from a storage tank rather than directly off the mains.