Fury over ‘swamp’ water in taps

For over a month now, brown coloured water has been coming through the taps in parts of east Cavan, largely in the Bailieborough, Virginia and Mullagh areas, according to irate residents who contacted this newspaper this week.
They claim they were not notified - by letter, email, text or otherwise - about works being carried out and feel 'boil water' notices should have been issued and water tankers supplied locally.
When residents made contact with Irish Water, they were informed that the system in the Bailieboro area was being flushed out and works would be complete by November 21, which at the time, they said, meant “enduring” what they described as “swamp water” for another duration. A complaint was registered with Irish Water.
One resident in the Mullagh area said there was a notice on the Irish Water website about work ongoing in Bailieborough but no mention of Mullagh. “What about the vulnerable members of the community, namely the young, elderly and infirm, some of whom may have neither the facility nor faculty to look-up Irish Water online. The arrogance of it is stunning, and they wanted us to pay for this service!” he fumed.
Irish Water issued a statement to The Anglo-Celt on Monday of this week in relation to the ongoing issues. It said it is committed to providing clean and secure drinking water to its customers.
“A recent issue with elevated levels of manganese in the Bailieborough Regional Water Supply Scheme, which supplies Virginia and Mullagh, following exceptional rainfall has led to the necessity for reservoir cleaning in Virginia. This cleaning will flush the water main and clean the water,” the spokesperson explained.
“While elevated levels of manganese makes the water look muddy or brown, the water is still safe to drink,” the statement adds. 
“Following reservoir cleaning, the water in Bailieborough is now clear and this has started to filter through to Virginia. Reservoirs in Virginia are now being cleaned. This work is ongoing and will be completed by tomorrow (Tuesday) at the latest,” it continued.
 “Irish Water working in partnership with Cavan County Council would like to thank customers for their patience while this necessary work is ongoing,” concluded the statement.