Water is a precious and limited resource. According to the UN, 47% of the world’s population will be living in areas of high water stress by 2030. Drinking waters distributed by local authorities in Ireland are termed public water supplies (PWS) and recent data suggests that 80% of the population receive their water from PWS, with the remaining 20% supplied by public (2.3%) or private (4.7%) group water schemes (GWS), small private supplies (0.7%) and private wells (12.3%). Provision of drinking water “fit for human consumption” requires compliance with strict standards set for 48 microbiological, chemical and indicator parameters by the European Communities (Drinking Water) (No. 2) Regulations, 2007. Most recent data for the year 2011 indicate that the drinking water quality in Ireland’s water supplies continues to improve, however a number of incidents have occurred where the quality of water available to the community has been compromised due to microbial contamination. Whilst these incidents are generally resolved in a matter of weeks or months, the associated loss of public confidence in their water supply and more generally in public services may be sustained. This proposal aims to assess the awareness of the public with regard to the quality of their water supply, how contamination incidents may impact on their health and wellbeing and what impact such incidents have on their confidence in this important resource
