NI Water is assuring customers that water supplied from all its Water Treatment Works,is safe to drink after concerns arose over taste and odour issues in the Mid Ulster area.

NI Water was made aware last week that a number of customers were reporting a taste and smell in their drinking water supply in specific areas. The water company explained that this is related to increased algae levels in Lough Neagh which supplies 40.7% of the drinking water within Northern Ireland.

Algae contain naturally occurring compounds that may cause an unpleasant taste and smell even after going through robust treatment processes, the company said.

Drinking water supplied from the water treatment works which use Lough Neagh as their raw water sources, are designed with the potential for algae to be present and robust treatment processes are in place to manage this effectively.

Head of drinking water and regulation Dymphna Gallagher explained:

“Our Water Treatment Works have robust nine stage cleaning systems, with different filtering systems and additions of chemicals at different times.

The Water Treatment Works (WTWs) that abstract water from Lough Neagh are designed for the removal of algae that may be present in the raw water.

“The compounds that are causing the taste and odour issues are called MIB and Geosmin. These are naturally occurring compounds that we know are not harmful to health.

“We are working hard to reduce the impact of these compounds as they move through our water supply system and can assure our customers we will continue this work throughout the weekend and over the coming week. In the meantime, if customers can store water in a jug in the fridge it will help reduce the taste and odour of the water.”

NI Water monitors its raw water intakes from all sources on a daily basis to ensure that drinking water supplied meets strict quality standards. Sampling and analysis are carried out 365 days per year, with samples taken from customer homes, reservoirs and treatment plants. Its testing and sampling system sees over 120,000 samples lifted and analysed each year.

The utility increases the frequency of algae monitoring over the summer months when the risk for algae in the raw water would generally be higher.

A statement issued by the water company yesterday says:

“We can assure our customers that the water supplied from all our Water Treatment Works, which includes water abstracted from Lough Neagh, is safe to drink and use as normal.

“If however, you or anyone in your household are unwell and have noticed a change in the quality of your water supply in either appearance/taste/odour, you can Contact Us via Webchat or on our Social Media channels which are available, 8am-11pm, 7 days a week.”