New online form to report water issues goes live

The taskforce responsible for addressing water quality issues, specifically discolouration, has launched a new online form.

Uisce Éireann’s Cork City Water Quality Taskforce has launched a new dedicated online form for customers in Cork city to report instances of discolouration “quickly and easily”.

Uisce Éireann, previously known as Irish Water, is encouraging people to report instances of discolouration. Alongside with its regular monitoring and testing, this provides the team with real-time insights into any emerging issues and helps identify areas of focus for future works.

This new online form has been developed following feedback from customers and elected representatives and allows the reporting of instances on the go, with a five-minute survey.

Brian O’Leary, Uisce Éireann Regional Operations Manager said: “Public health is the top priority for Uisce Éireann and we want to assure customers that resolving this issue remains a key focus. While the majority of people in the city receive a consistent high quality, fully compliant water supply without any discolouration issues, we acknowledge the persistence of these issues for some customers. We hope our new online tool will provide a quick, simple, and accessible way for customers to report instances of discolouration and continue to target our response in the most impacted areas.”

The company said there has been a decrease in the reports of discolouration across the city but strongly urge customers to remain consistent in their reporting. Customers can find this reporting form on the Uisce Éireann website water.ie or via the customer care team on 1800-278278.

Uisce Éireann continues to advise not to drink discoloured water. In the event of discolouration, running the cold kitchen tap for several minutes - up to 20 minutes - will usually restore water to a clear colour. The water is safe to drink once running clear. If the issue remains unresolved, customers are asked to contact the customer care team on 1800-278278.

Water can be discoloured due to sediment (including naturally occurring metals such as manganese and iron) becoming dislodged from old cast iron pipes or works on the water network in your area.