With high temperatures and dry conditions over the past fortnight, farmers might now be considering investing in a private well.

This is especially considering that access to water has become a hot topic in recent weeks.

Uisce Éireann has implemented a six-week hosepipe ban in some areas, while Met Eireann yesterday (July 20) reported "little to no rainfall across the country over the past week".

So, for farmers thinking of looking into their own local source of water, here's what you need to know.

On the construction side, the Institute of Geologists of Ireland (IGI) has guidelines for drilling private wells.

It recommends the following steps:

Water wells should be drilled in locations that minimise risks of being polluted by, for example, septic tanks, farmyard runoff or slurry spreading;
Wellheads should be constructed so as to ensure that surface water and shallow groundwater, which are likely to be polluted, cannot enter the well;
Water well drillers and their equipment and methods should meet certain minimum standards;
Water wells should be cleaned and disinfected before being brought into use;
Water wells should be tested for yield and quality;
Water wells no longer required for any purpose should be sealed (decommissioned) to specified standards;

Additionally, Citizens Information reports that if you have a well, you are responsible for maintaining your own water supply.

The local authority will not test your supply. However, if your water supply is polluted by negligence, you should contact your local authority.

Common Agricultural Policy

Maintaining a well is also relevant to any farmer receiving Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments.

As the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) said in their CAP guidelines literature, “payments to beneficiaries of the CAP are linked to mandatory requirements or conditionality”.

Conditionality sets the baseline requirements for farmers in receipt of CAP payments and replaced the “cross compliance” requirements in the previous CAP.

One of the ways in which conditionality requirements are implemented is Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs).

DAFM highlighted that SMR 1 includes controls over the abstraction of fresh surface water and groundwater, including on-farm abstractions and the establishment of a register for water abstractions.

For example, private wells have a 25m³ per day threshold, and must be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency.

Your well is subject to inspection just like any other part of your farm.

Water quality

The Environmental Protection Agency has a number of warnings and guidelines when it comes to ensuring water is safe to use.

The agency said that it is important to regularly test the well water, particularly for microbiological contamination.

Contact your local authority or Health Service Executive (HSE) environmental health officer for advice on water testing.

Well owners can expect to pay about €65 for microbiological testing and about €130 for a full drinking water test.