One thousand consumers in a north Mayo town have been advised to boil their tap water after E.coli and coliform were detected in the public water supply.
Householders in Crossmolina have been advised by Mayo County Council to boil water before drinking it. In addition they have been warned not to brush their teeth or clean vegetables in unboiled water. The contamination was detected in a routine sampling by the Western Health Board.
The contamination followed an incident this week when a contractor accidentally burst a water main. Chlorine levels have since been restored, and the council is confident the results of fresh samples, due today, will be satisfactory.
According to the chief environmental officer for Mayo, Mr Cathal Kearney, the problem was detected on Monday. The council contacted affected food premises and yesterday issued a "boil alert" to consumers. The alert also covers all group water schemes attached to the town's public supply.
A spokesman said the alert would stay in place until tests showed there was no longer a problem.
Mr Kearney said: "There is a very minimal risk to health from the level of contamination detected, but none the less that risk is removed once water is boiled before consumption."