The water from my tap is horrid? Who do I complain to? What can be done about it?

I too will be interested to see if there is any comeback when water charges arrive if you are not happy with your water supply.

I recently moved house and the water out of my tap is horrid. Not very clear and seems to have a lot of 'stuff' floating in it. Only in about 2 months and already my kettle is full of limescale. Have started buying bottled water for the 1st time in my life. Always thought it was a scam, but unfortunately I now need it.

I was thinking of buying one of those permanent filtered taps for the kitchen to treat all the drinking water.

Is there any point complaining to the local authority? Anything they can do?

test

I recently moved into a 2nd hand house, and frankly I have had it already with the drinking water. Its terrible. Looks very murky and already, after only a few months use, has a kettle riddled with limescale.

I too have started to buy bottled water, and have also invested in a filter jug. I have noticed that the shower doors, despite regular cleaning, scum up very quickly. Also the sink in the utility room is very grubby, again despite constant cleaning.

Who would I complain to to get the water quality checked? Is it the local council? I feel that my water is not good enough to be using daily, and if they ever bring in water charges then I think I would have ample cause not to pay.

The two previous posts were tagged to other threads.

I have moved them here.

I have given the thread the following title: The water from my tap is horrid? Who do I complain to? What can be done about it?

Some questions:
Before you bought the house did your or your surveyor check the water quality and quantity (pressure and flow)?
Are you situated on high ground or at the end of a long distribution main?
Are you connected to a public mains supply? or perhaps its a private group water supply or perhaps its a well or some other individual or shared private supply?
Are you connected to public sewers or do you operate a septic tank?
Have you got your water tested by a reputable independant laboratory? (Costs about €100) What do the results say in terms of bacteria, general chemistry and metals?
Do the results indicate water which meets the EU Drinking Water regulations?

If your water does not meet the EU Drinking Water Standards then the supplier (local authority or private group scheme operator) is obliged to rectify the matter.

In the meantime if you are not happy with the quality of your drinking water you could show the results of the analysis to a number of reputable water treatment contractors and ask them to provide quotations for systems to bring your water up to standard. Test the water after treatment to assure yourself that the system is working.

Beware of door to door sales men and people who claim to be able to conduct insitu water quality tests.

The EU Drinking Water Regulations are silent on the matter of lime scale possible because this is a nuisance that has no known negative health implications. If you suffer from hard water then determine how hard your water is before deciding on the remedy and provide a bypass tap.

ajapale,

Thanks for the work on the multiple threads. Appreciated.

Now back to the matter in hand. I hope to contact the local authority soon but in the meantime I have mains water, and a septic tank. I did get a survey done but it was for buildings, and water was not covered.

I have spoke to a few neighbours and local residents and they all suffer from the same problem. As you mention, yes it is more limescale and I have been told that its not a health risk, just makes your water look less than appetising. But I am thinking it will do damage to appliances as it is pretty bad in a short space of time.

We had a problem with limescale in the kettle etc and our tame plumber came up with a device called

"Cal Combi"
Combination Magnetic & Electolytic scale inhibitor.

This was fitted in line on the outlet pipe from the combination boiler.

Over a period of time the existing limescale in the kettle has flaked off and it is now clear of limescale. The water is drinkable from the tap.

I don't know if you can get this kit in Ireland, but I'd have thought it should be possible.

I'll Google it later on and see if I can get more info for you.

have a look on www.TradePlumbing.co.uk which has this device. Free delivery in England & Wales only but I would have thought you'd be able to get something similar over there.

Good Luck.

Thanks BillK, I'll look into something like that. Worth a punt.

RMCF said:

Worth a punt.

Click to expand...

No its not worth a punt!

There is no evidence that such systems work. Ive posted else where about this.

To reiterate get your water tested! Show the results to reputable local water treatment contractors and get a number of quotations for the systems they are proposing. Test the water after the installation to satisfy your self that the system is doing what it proports to do.

Is your water local authority water or is it a group scheme?

aj

It worked for us as described in my original response.