NI Water does not add fluoride to drinking water in Northern Ireland. Your local supply, however, may contain naturally occurring fluoride that is found in underlying rock strata from where it finds its way into river, lakes and reservoirs.
Tap water is overall quite safe in Ireland.
A good rule of thumb is that in bigger towns like Dublin, Limerick and Cork you should feel very safe to drink the water, but in rural areas you may want to cautiously avoid ice cubes and stick to bottled water. Bathroom sink water is fine for brushing teeth though.
Where does Belfast's water come from? The Silent Valley reservoir collects water from the Mourne Mountains. It travels through a tunnel, drilled through Slieve Binnian, and into the Silent Valley. The Silent Valley pipe tunnel carries the water on to the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland.
From the water treatment plants water flows by gravity through large pipes (trunk mains) to service reservoirs. These provide short-term storage to ensure a constant water supply during peak demand periods. Most water flows by gravity, however in some elevated areas it is necessary to pump.
Often county health departments will help you test for bacteria or nitrates. If not, you can have your water tested by a state certified laboratory. You can find one in your area by calling the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791 or visiting
Water hardness comes from naturally occurring calcium and magnesium salts, and the harder the water, the more of these salts it will contain. The map shows the hard and soft water areas in Northern Ireland. In addition, calcium and magnesium are essential minerals in our diet.
Rainwater is naturally soft. It only becomes hard if it percultes through chalk and limestone and dissolves some of the minerals. So the kind of water you have depends on the surrounding geology and the source of your water supply - whether it is river or ground water. Most of Ireland has hard water.
If you are seeing an environmental event that may lead to an immediate threat to human health or the environment, call 911, then report it to the National Response Center at: 1-800-424-8802. Choose "No" to continue reporting a possible violation that is not an emergency.
Check your postcode & see if you
live in a
hard water area with our
water hardness map.
How is Hard water measured?
| PPM | Water Hardness |
|---|
| 0 – 50 PPM | Is soft. |
| 51 – 100PPM | Is moderately soft. |
| 101 – 150PPM | Is slightly hard. |
| 151 – 200PPM | Is moderately hard. |
Measures of water hardness
General guidelines for classification of waters are: 0 to 60 mg/L (milligrams per liter) as calcium carbonate is classified as soft; 61 to 120 mg/L as moderately hard; 121 to 180 mg/L as hard; and more than 180 mg/L as very hard.NI Water is a Government Owned Company (GoCo) – which is a statutory trading body owned by central government but operating under company legislation. The Company has a Management Statement and Finance Memorandum (MSFM) in place with the DfI and the DFP to provide further clarity and accountability to stakeholders.
Summary. Your bathroom tap water is perfectly fine to brush your teeth and to wash up. As long as you're not swallowing the water, you're unlikely to get lead poisoning.
Believe it or not, the research has proven rather conclusively that the water quality from a kitchen faucet and bathroom faucet is the same. In the bathroom, the water is often very cold because the person getting a drink first uses the water closet (toilet) and flushes. This starts the flow of cold water.
2 Answers. All water coming into your house comes from the same single source, so unless you have two separate storage tanks for your kitchen taps and bathroom taps (highly unlikely) then the water will be identical.
Modern properties are usually fitted with copper or plastic pipes as the use of lead water service pipes was phased out in the UK by 1970, meaning you're probably safe to take a drink from a bathroom tap under those circumstances.
Cork's Tap Water Is Safe To Drink And Does Not Pose A Threat To People's Health. That's the message from Irish Water following an audit of the Inniscarra Water Treatment facility by the EPA earlier this year.
It is safe to drink unless otherwise noted. However, tap water in Dublin does get turned off much more frequently than in other developed countries, at one point for 12 hours a day for several months. So if you do drink tap water, make sure to drink it from a kitchen tap.
All non-domestic customers in Northern Ireland are charged for water. Those non-domestic customers who discharge to the public sewer will also be subject to sewerage charges, and trade effluent charges where applicable.
Measured water and sewerage charges
| Supply Pipe Size | Water | Sewerage |
|---|
| 41 to 50mm | £338 | £401 |
| 51 to 75mm | £671 | £792 |
| 76 to 100mm | £1,215 | £1,443 |
| Over 100mm | £1,727 | £2,041 |
In Northern Ireland, you have to pay domestic rates, instead of Council Tax. Find out more on the NI Direct website. Council Tax is an annual fee that your local council charges you for the local services it provides, like rubbish collection and libraries.
Irish Water will not issue bills for Water Services provided to a Dwelling above the Threshold Amount before 1st January 2022, and these bills will cover a period commencing in October 2020 at the earliest .
The person who actually gets water and/or wastewater services from Irish Water is liable to pay any charges due. This means that the occupier of the property is liable for the excess use charge. If you own a property, you are presumed to be the occupier, unless it is proven otherwise.
You can
pay your
rates by telephone using your debit card. There is no charge to
pay by debit card. To contact LPS: telephone: 0300 200 7801.
Pay your rates by telephone
- account ID.
- ratepayer ID.
- amount due.
Rates pay for services throughout Northern Ireland; like schools, hospitals and roads; and for services in your local area; like bin collection, parks and leisure centres. The amount you pay depends on the value of your property and which council area it is in.
