Drinking water quality in private supplies continues to fall short of the standards achieved by public supplies delivered by Uisce Éireann.

That's according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which has today (Thursday, July 30) released its Drinking Water Quality in Private Group Schemes and Small Private Supplies 2025 report.

There are approximately 370 private group schemes supplying drinking water to more than 194,000 people in rural communities across Ireland.

Also, over 1,600 small private supplies are registered with local authorities, providing drinking water from their own wells to commercial and public activities, such as schools, creches, nursing homes, hotels, camping sites and sports clubs.

In 2023, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) identified the need to strengthen the governance, oversight and management of private water supplies.

Progress on implementing measures to address this deficit has been slow, according to the EPA, adding that the DHLGH must implement these reforms as a priority.

Private water supplies

According to the agency, a key first step is to make registration a legal obligation for small private supplies.

Currently approximately 1,600 small private supplies are registered, but it is estimated that there are many more not registered.

Launching the report, director of EPA Office of Radiation Protection and Environmental Monitoring, Pat Byrne said:

“It is unacceptable that people visiting a local business or using local amenities could unknowingly consume water from a well that is not registered or sampled, putting themselves and their family's health at risk.

"Suppliers should act immediately and register their supplies, so they are monitored by local authorities, giving suppliers and consumers confidence in the quality of their drinking water.”

Private and group schemes - water quality compliance

The presence of E. coli bacteria in drinking water means it is contaminated and that it poses a risk to people’s health, the report outlined.

Small private supplies continue to have poorer E. coli compliance than public water supplies provided by Uisce Éireann, with 67 supplies failing the standard in 2025.

This is a compliance rate of 95%.

Meanwhile, 14 private group schemes, supplying 1,854 people, had E. coli failures in 2025 - down from 24 in 2024.

Six of these, however, had repeat failures of E. coli in both 2024 and 2025 due to a combination of operational and infrastructural issues.

In 2025, 17 private group schemes, serving 19,362 people, failed the trihalomethane (THM) standard.

This represents a minor improvement on 2024, when 19 schemes failed to meet the standard.

Programme manager of the EPA’s Office of Radiation Protection and Environmental Monitoring, Noel Byrne said:

“While there has been some improvement in E. coli compliance in group schemes, the continued failures in several private group schemes shows that more action is needed.

"Where suppliers do not act, or where failures persist, local authorities must escalate enforcement action, so consumers are protected.”