Water Supply - General Information
Cork County Council treats and supplies water in compliance with the European Communities (Drinking Water) Regulations, 2000 (S.I. 439 of 2000) to approximately 40,000 non-domestic customers and 100,000 homes across the county. Due to the size of Cork County - there are three 'Sanitary Authorities' - one each for South, North and West Cork Divisions.
Water is sourced from groundwater contained in rock or gravel aquifers or from surface waters i.e. rivers and lakes. Disinfection is provided on all supplies in order to provide safe drinking water. Most groundwater supplies require no additional treatment - although iron and manganese are removed in some supplies where the levels are elevated. In contrast surface water require far more extensive treatment in order to ensure a consistent and acceptable quality to our customers.
Legislation governing water supply goes back as far as the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878. Cork County Council as the 'Sanitary Authority' has powers, duties and obligations under this and more recent legislation. Generally County or City Councils have one 'Sanitary Authority' for their functional area, however, Cork County Council is an exception. Due to the size of Cork County - there are three 'Sanitary Authorities' - one each for South, North and West Cork Divisions. Town Councils in County Cork as elsewhere around the country were their own 'Sanitary Authority'. The Local Government Act, 2001 provided for the consolidation of Sanitary Services at county level - this has been the case since 01/01/04. The Water Services Bill 2007 has updated and consolidated the legal framework in the whole water services area. On its enactment, 'Sanitary Authorities' are known as Water Service Authorities.
The average daily volume of water produced is estimated to be 40,465 m3/day. There are a total of 67 Public Water Supply Schemes in the North Cork Division. 7 of these deliver over 2,300 m3/day, a further 12 deliver between 450 m3/day and 2,300 m3/day each and a further 48 smaller public schemes supplying under 450 m3/day each. The total length of watermains in these 67 Public Water Supply Schemes is estimated to be 1,289 Km.
In addition to operational staff, headquarters staff are responsible for design and construction supervision of specific new projects including the Water Services Investment Programme, Rural Water Programme, Sewerage Schemes and Strategic Planning.
There are 3 Regional Water Supply Schemes (Inniscarra, Glashaboy, Innishannon) and 32 smaller public schemes in Cork City Hinterland Region and the average daily volume of water produced is estimated to be 82,000 m3/day - a substantial proportion of these is supplied to Cork City.
There are also 9 Town / Regional Water Supply Schemes (Bandon, Kinsale, Macroom, Midleton, Youghal, Whitegate, Cloyne / Aghada & Carrigtohill and Cobh) and 39 smaller public schemes and the average daily volume of water produced in these areas is estimated to be 29,376 m3/day.
In addition to operational staff, headquarters staff are responsible for design and construction supervision of specific new projects including the Water Services Investment Programme, Rural Water Programme, Sewerage Schemes and Strategic Planning.
The average daily volume of water produced is estimated to be 16,783 m3/day. There are 5 Regional Water Supply Schemes (Clonakilty, Skibbereen, Castletownbere, Baltimore, & Leap) and 30 smaller public schemes. The total length of watermains (including Group Schemes attached to the public main) is estimated to be 1,600 km.
In addition to operational staff, headquarters staff are responsible for design and construction supervision of specific new projects including the Water Services Investment Programme, Rural Water Programme, Sewerage Schemes and Strategic Planning.
