Irish Water has issued a fresh boil water notice for more than 600,000 people served by the Leixlip Water Treatment Plant.
The company announced the action shortly after 6pm saying it was necessary as a precaution after heavy rain affected the treatment process.
It said the water treated at the old part of the plant was unacceptably cloudy which indicated a high level of suspended particles in the supply.
It said staff spotted the problem and reacted quickly to shut down this part of the plant which is responsible for 20pc of the total supply coming from it.
There was no issue in the new part of the plant but the company said: “As Irish Water cannot guarantee the quality the water from the old plant, a boil water notice is now in place.”
Irish Water general manager Eamon Gallen said: "Irish Water acknowledges and apologises for the impact and inconvenience caused by this boil water notice to homes and businesses. “We are very disappointed that a boil water notice has to be imposed again but as we outlined the last time, our number one priority is the public health and the safety and well-being of our customers.
“The choice we were faced with was customers having a severely restricted water supply for a long period of time or having water for sanitation purposes such as showering and flushing of toilets.
“We were left with no option but to resume production at the old plant in the knowledge that a boil water notice would then be necessary.”
Two weeks ago, the same 600,000 people in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow were under a boil water notice for three days because of a contamination scare at the plant.
Irish Water this evening confirmed the Boil Water Notice has been put in place for a second time in two weeks.
Officials from Irish Water and Fingal County Council already faced a grilling by a TDs and Senators on the Oireachtas Housing Committee tomorrow due to last month’s incident.
In the wake of the latest boil water notice Committee chairman Noel Rock told Indepemdent.ie: “This is very frustrating to see this happen again. 600,000 people are back on boil water notices.
“They deserve clear answers as to why this is happening.
“I’ll be pursuing this issue and seeking those answers tomorrow. This is why I demanded they appear before the Committee I chair”.
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