Irish Water unsure when Longford boil water notice will be lifted
Irish Water has revealed it "cannot be conclusive" as to when a boil water notice affecting almost half of county Longford's population will be lifted.
The State-owned utility said it could not determine when supplies to water services in Longford would return, five days after a boil notice was issued for the Longford Central Public Water Supply area.
In the region of 17,500 customers in Longford town, Newtownforbes, Ballinalee, parts of Edgeworthstown, Drumlish, Killashee and surrounding areas have been forced told to boil water until further notice.
It had been hoped interruptions to supplies would be resolved sometime this week, but in a statement to the Leader Irish Water stopped short of singling out any specific date for a return of normal service.
"Irish Water cannot be conclusive about how long the Boil Water Notice will remain in place," read a statement.
"Experts from Irish Water and Longford County Council are working to resolve the issue at the plant with a view to lifting the notice as quickly and a safely as possible. In the meantime, all customers of this supply are advised to boil water before use until further notice."
The company also moved to clarify accusations over the way news of the boil water notice was relayed to customers.
"In order to communicate the Boil Water Notice our news section on the website was updated, a press release was shared with all local media outlets, an update was issued to elected representatives in the area and our social media channels were also updated. Customers registered as vulnerable on Irish Water’s vulnerable register were contacted directly," added the water utility.
For further coverage on the fallout concerning last week's boil water notice, see tomorrow's Longford Leader.