A new report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows that 45% of septic tanks failed inspection by Local Authorities last year.
The EPA said that 1,189 septic tank inspections were carried out during 2023 and that out of these a “significant number” were identified as a risk to human health and the environment.
They failed inspections because they were not built or maintained properly.
According to the agency enforcement action by Local Authorities to ensure householders fix septic tanks is “inconsistent and needs to improve”.
The EPA also identified that Waterford, Roscommon and Kilkenny had “the lowest rates of septic tank failures resolved”.
Domestic waste water treatment systems, mostly septic tanks, are used by householders to treat sewage.
It is estimated that there are nearly half a million of these systems throughout Ireland.
EPA
Dr. Tom Ryan, director of the EPA’s office of environmental enforcement, said today (Thursday, May 9) that faulty septic tanks “must be fixed”.
“The EPA, through the National Inspection Plan, has identified rivers and areas where household drinking water wells are most at risk of contamination by faulty septic tanks.
“Local Authority inspections are targeted in these areas.
“It is critical that householders protect their family’s health and the environment by fixing the problems identified, drawing on the enhanced grants now available,” Dr. Ryan added.
Grants for fixing septic tanks have increased from €5,000 to €12,000.
Local Authorities are required to complete a minimum of 1,200 inspections each year under the EPA’s National Inspection Plan 2022-2026.
Local Authorities in Galway County, Limerick, Wexford, Leitrim and Westmeath “did not complete” their full 2023 allocations according to the EPA and are required to make these up in 2024.
The EPA has warned that faulty domestic waste water treatment systems can contaminate household drinking water wells with “harmful bacteria and viruses”.
It also highlighted that people may be exposed to sewage if it surfaces in gardens or runs off into ditches and streams.