Is water crisis now a health crisis?

A Cork dad fears his young son may have developed a skin condition as a result of the ongoing dirty water crisis primarily affecting the city’s northside.

Roy O’Driscoll from Gurranabraher said he will take his three year old son to the doctor today after he developed severe dry skin in recent weeks.

Mr O’Driscoll said he and his family have been experiencing repeated bouts of unusable dirty water in their home for “well over 12 months”, leaving them unable to safely wash themselves or their clothes.

He also said he was unable to give his newborn seven week old son an emergency bath following an “explosive nappy” situation. He said being unable to tend properly to his newborn son’s needs made him especially angry.

“The colour of our water is like pouring a cup of tea straight from the tap, a kind of yellowy-brown colour,” Mr O’Driscoll told the Cork Independent.

“Probably the most frustrating part is that there's no notice; like, today it could be fine, tomorrow it could be dirty,” he added.

He also said that water that while might appear clear in a small glass, when poured into five litre containers, is actually still quite discoloured.

No warning

According to Mr O’Driscoll, no warning is given, and no boil water notices are issued ahead of a spell of dirty, discoloured water.

“Every time my water’s dirty, I do what I’m supposed to do which is ring Irish Water (Uisce Éireann) and log it with them, and it’s the same response from them every time - that the water’s going to be flushed through the system and it should clear in a day, run your taps for 20 minutes.

“Over the last 12 months I must have rang 15 times with the same response and no endgame as to what the actual solution is going to be long term,” added Mr O’Driscoll.

He says he now feels “100% abandoned” by the Government and Uisce Éireann and that he has “lost all trust” in the water coming into his home.

Now forced to buy bottled drinking water, Mr O’Driscoll said it is costing his family €120 a month.

“We made an estimate and it was only when I said it out loud that I realised how much we’re actually spending in what is a cost of living crisis. That’s extortionate money to be paying out for water; it’s a human right to have clean water.”

Another northside resident, from Farranree, told the Cork Independent that he also feels the water irritates his skin, as well as having an unusual smell.

“The water is bad; there’s always a strange smell from it. I was recently thinking about getting a filter system put into the house. The shower water is definitely harsh on the skin,” said the resident, who chose to remain anonymous. “Something definitely needs to be done by the powers that be to deliver higher quality water to the people of the northside. For years now the water quality is sub-standard, and people’s concerns have fallen on deaf ears,” he added.

Protest

A protest demanding immediate Government action on the Cork city water crisis will take place in Gurranabraher this evening, Thursday. Socialist Party Cllr Brian McCarthy, who has been a leading voice for the campaign said: “Uisce Éireann have been downplaying this issue over the last few months, saying that it’s not as widespread or as bad as it was before. Nothing could be further from the truth; they should go door to door in Gurranabraher or Knocknaheeny someday, ask the people up there what they think. It’s hard to believe that in Ireland in 2024 people are being denied their basic human right to clean, safe water.”

The protest will take place at the Church of the Ascension on Cathedral Road this evening at 6.30pm. In a statement responding to the protest, Uisce Éireann acknowledged the disappointment felt by the residents. It said: “We want to assure the public that the matter is being treated with the utmost urgency, including establishing a taskforce dedicated to improving water quality and following up with proactive callbacks to customers who have raised concerns over discoloured water. We are committed to communicating openly and clearly with our customers and their elected representatives in Cork city.”