Galway City Drinking Water

cornbb

The 60 cases mentioned are just the ones that have been laboratory confirmed. Seems there are waay more cases of the sh*ts out there that haven't been reported or confirmed as whatever-its-called.

RedPlanet

We have one of those water coolers connected to the mains here at work.
I rang AWS today to inquire if it's safe to drink, and if not, what are they going to do about it.
I felt they fobbed me off, and were just saying yes it's perfectly safe as it's filtered.
I found out the filter is called "K2520" which is a 1 micron filter.
However according to:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/cryptosporidiosis/factsht_crypto_prevent_water.htm

There are two types of these — "absolute 1 micron" filters and "nominal 1 micron" filters. The absolute 1 micron filter will more consistently remove Cryptosporidium than a nominal filter. Some nominal 1 micron filters will allow 20% to 30% of 1 micron particles to pass through.

If i have the manufacturer and model number of the filter there's a site i can search to see if it's even been tested for this.
http://www.nsf.org/certified/DWTU/

So i rang AWS back and told them what i found out, but the person just took my number and said their Health and Safety person would ring me back.

Thing is, why were they telling me the water was safe to drink?

padi89

Deleted User wrote:

Nope. You have to wash things with boiling water as well.. or else water that had been boiled, then cooled.

Mmmm, how are all the restaurants, bars managing???

padi89

padi89 wrote:

Mmmm, how are all the restaurants, bars managing???

.. they're called dishwashers

cornbb

I hope he meant food, not dishes. You just need to wash things like salad/fruit in boiled/bottled water. Washing something like spuds in bottled water would be a bit pointless cause they're gonna be cooked later anyway...

yellowellie

Does anybody know if workplaces are obliged to provide drinking water to employees? Is supplying bottled water for sale adequate?

kraggy

Deleted User wrote:

.. they're called dishwashers

Average dishwasher only heats water to 60 degrees i.e. not boiled so not safe from a temperature point of view.

However, the boil notice issued by the council does not specify that dishes need to be washed in water that has been boiled.

One could assume that it is safe to eat off dishes washed by affected water (as long as said dishes have been dried).

However, there's no guarantee.

k.

padi89

Deleted User wrote:

.. they're called dishwashers

Many kitchens in galway dont use dish washers , the machine type.So im wondering if you have to use boiled water ,how in the hell is a bar or restaurant meant to cope with someone manually washing dishes over a sink???????

kraggy

kraggy wrote:

Average dishwasher only heats water to 60 degrees i.e. not boiled so not safe from a temperature point of view.

However, the boil notice issued by the council does not specify that dishes need to be washed in water that has been boiled.

One could assume that it is safe to eat off dishes washed by affected water (as long as said dishes have been dried).

However, there's no guarantee.

k.

Point taken. I think I heard somewhere about not being able to wash dishes in water that hasn't been boiled but I'm not sure exactly

herbieflowers

...and we can't wash ourselves either...for fear of dying....

galwayrush

herbieflowers wrote:

...and we can't wash ourselves either...for fear of dying....

Guess the Crusties got something right:rolleyes:

padi89

Deleted User wrote:

I think I heard somewhere but I'm not sure exactly

Think that sums that one up then.

Donegal Lass

anyone still brush their teeth in it?

Donegal Lass

Donegal Lass wrote:

anyone still brush their teeth in it?

Yup, hasn't had an effect on me yet.

Posted on the Galway County Council website (here http://www.galway.ie/en/Services/PublicNotices/):

In*response to the increasing number of people becoming ill as a result of the bug 'Cryptosporidiosis' and on the advice of the Health Service Executive West, Galway City and County Council issued a Boil Water notice on Thursday 15th March 2007.

Since then, all three agencies have worked closely to deal with the risk and have established an Incident Response Team.* The Team includes environmental and water services professionals, veterinary expertise, scientist, public and environmental health professionals, with advice from the Environmental Protection Agency and Health Protection Surveillance Centre.

Since last week, both the City and County increased their sampling of the water for Cryptosporidium. Results received last night indicate contamination of the public water supply in some of the affected area.* New cases of Cryptosporidiosis continue to be notified in the area with the cases numbering 60 in 2007 to date.* A small number of these cases required hospitalisation.

Boiling is the best extra measure to ensure that your water is free of cryptosporidium and other germs. Until now, we were advising boiling water as a precaution, it is now essential that people in the affected areas continue to boil water intended for drinking or food preparation.* If you are unsure of the source of your water supply, it is advised to boil your water as a precautionary measure.

For the advice of the public, water should not be used un-boiled for:


·****************************** Drinking

·****************************** Drinks made with water

·****************************** Preparation of salads and similar foods, which are not cooked prior to eating

·****************************** Brushing of teeth

·****************************** Making of ice.


Water can be used for personal hygiene, bathing and flushing of toilets but not for brushing teeth or gargling

Boil water and allow to cool.* Cover and store in a refrigerator or cold place.* Water from the hot tap is not safe to drink.* Domestic water filters will not render water safe to drink.

Discard ice cubes in fridges and freezers and filtered water in fridges.* Make ice from cooled boiled water.

Use water prepared for drinking when preparing foods that will not be cooked (e.g. washing salads, fruit and vegetables to be consumed uncooked)

Prepare baby feeds with water that has been brought to the boil once and cooled.* Do not use water that has been reboiled several times.* Do not use bottled mineral water as most brands contain concentrations of minerals that are too high for babies.

Anyone suffering from diarrhoea for more than two days should contact their general practitioner and provide a stool sample for testing.* They should continue to drink plenty of boiled or bottled water.

From the health perspective, the HSE is continuing to investigate other possible sources of the infection, communicating with health professionals including GPs, health facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes and with food premises.*

From the local authority's perspective, they have significantly increased their sampling regime with continuous testing for the Cryptosporidium.* They have conducted aerial surveys and fieldwork (including site inspections) to try to establish a possible source of contamination, conducted a leaflet drop, updated the web sites with relevant information and established a phone-in helpline.

In addition, both the City and County Councils are examining all measures that can be put in place to ensure the quality of the water supply and to protect the integrity of the water sources.

We would like to thank the public for their co-operation in this matter and we would stress the importance of continuing to boil the water.

The 'Boil Water' notice will be lifted when:

1.***************************** There is a marked decline in notifications of human disease

2.***************************** There are consistently low levels of cryptosporidium in the treated public water supply, which will assure an effective treatment system to remove cryptosporidium from the water

Oh nuts, apparently you can't brush your teeth..

cornbb

Donegal Lass wrote:

anyone still brush their teeth in it?

Yeah, I keep doing that, and then remembering about the creatures in the water, and then thinking "sh*te!"

smackbunnybaby

cornbb wrote:

Yeah, I keep doing that, and then remembering about the creatures in the water, and then thinking "sh*te!"

ha ha ditto!

Donegal Lass

yea ive been doing it so far?

hasnt done any harm so far...











/runs to bathroom with crippling stomach aches!

PopeBuckfastXVI

It takes a while to show symptoms after it enters your gut and starts breeding and multiplying. They don't advise you to brush your teeth with boiled water for fun. But it's up to yourself, it's your body!

cornbb

Well the way to go is to brush our teeth with boiling water and gargle with some bleach afterwards. Tis the only safe course of action. Oh, and don't shave with tap water either, the lil bástards will wriggle in through your pores.*

(*Yes, its all shíte talk)

MattKid

Looks like I've picked the right time to move over to Galway!

Think of me in one of the 6 bed dorms in Sleepzone, while I find somewhere to rent!

Tar.Aldarion

Die parasite die!
Got it right before my last exam, programming, that was great!

Well the way to go is to brush our teeth with boiling water and gargle with some bleach afterwards. Tis the only safe course of action. Oh, and don't shave with tap water either, the lil bástards will wriggle in through your pores.*

(*Yes, its all shíte talk)

Actually, I got it from brushing my teeth with the water.

hairyfairy00

Someone told me today that the bottles of "Galway Water" are also contaminated, does anybody know if this true??

PopeBuckfastXVI

Who told you that? Mr. Ballygown by any chance?

Alessandra

I've heard things aboout that before too.

The cost of buying bottled water is eating into my finances which are pathetic anyway.
Anyone notice that there is only ever expensive brands such as volvic left in the stores?

Heard there on the news that this could go on for months:mad:

wet-paint

Galway Water (bottled) isn't contaminated. And that's as factish as you're likely to get here.

galah

Alessandra wrote:

I've heard things aboout that before too.

The cost of buying bottled water is eating into my finances which are pathetic anyway.
Anyone notice that there is only ever expensive brands such as volvic left in the stores?

Heard there on the news that this could go on for months:mad:

well, the early bird and all that...went to Tescos before 9 am last Saturday, and there was plenty of (cheap) water...

PopeBuckfastXVI

Well the only way to do something about it is to organise some dissent, publically display our annoyance to our politicians, and remind them that *they* work for *us*.

No clean water: No vote!

galah

doesn't work if you're not allowed to vote...:mad:

Oh, hang on, I think foreigners are allowed to vote in local elections, right?

But apart from that - has there actually been any mention of how they're going to deal with this problem??? Like upgrade the water treatment facilities? Or something to that effect?

But this is the council who only did something (at least I believe they did, correct me if I'm wrong) about the raw sewage pumped into the Corrib because you could SEE the pipe. Not because of the raw sewage...

PopeBuckfastXVI

Yes anyone of any nationality over the age of 18 can vote in local elections.

Last I heard they said "yay! we found the problem!" like they wanted a pat on the f*cking back, no mention of actually getting off their fat taxpayer fed rich asses and doing something about it of course...

po0k

It is agricultural run-off, as far as I can make out, it's seasonal, and there isn't really a whole lot that can be done to prevent it.