You might want to think twice about ordering 'tap water' water with your next meal...
Research by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revealed that 1 in 20 pubs, hotels, nursing homes and schools in Ireland have a drinking water supply contaminated with E. coli.
E. coli contaminated drinking water is known to cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting.
Local authorities hold responsibility for ensuring that private drinking water supplies are monitored for compliance with drinking water standards.
The study also revealed that 39 of the 1,225 private supplies and 20 of the 380 private group schemes monitored by the EPA were contaminated with the harmful bacteria.
There were no THM contamination sites identified in the South East, and just one E. Coli "failure" in the region - at Upperchurch, Co. Tipperary.
The study also revealed that 7% of group water schemes are using a water supply contaminated with chemicals known as THMs.
THMs or Trihalomethanes are found when organic substances found in water react with chlorine disinfectant, producing substances known to cause cancer and reproductive complications.
