Green Party calls for free well water testing for rural households
The Green Party has again called for free well water testing to be introduced for rural households following a report from the EPA on the failure rate of septic tank inspections.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a report on Domestic Waste Water Treatment System Inspections 2024 yesterday (May 14), which found that more than half of septic tanks inspected by local authorities in 2024 failed the inspection criteria.
Speaking following the release of the findings, Green Party spokesperson for agriculture, Senator Malcolm Noonan said that the high failure rate highlighted an urgent need for local authorities, and the government to get to grips with a real and pervasive threat.
Senator Noonan reiterated a call the Greens made in 2024 to introduce free well water testing for households.
He said: "Around 500,000 people living in rural areas rely on private domestic wells for their drinking water. The EPA recommends that such supplies are tested once per year, however the cost of such tests can be in excess of €200. Testing needs to be made more accessible.
"Environmental health meets public health in our kitchen taps, and checking that your household has a safe drinking water supply is something that should be made free and easy."
"I think well water quality and free testing should be a key issue for the next government. It’s a simple measure that I think is very important for the 10% of the population living in rural areas," Senator Noonan added.
According to the Green Party, Ireland has the highest incidence of VTEC E.coli in Europe, and a substantial proportion of cases have been linked to contaminated private drinking water supplies.
However, private domestic wells fall outside the drinking water regulations and as such are not checked or monitored. According to the EPA, these are a potential risk to public health.
Senator Noonan believes that people in rural areas are drinking water from contaminated private supplies, and that they are unaware that they are putting their health at risk.
The Green Party also said that the EPA report pointed to a lack of consistency across local authorities around inspections and enforcement, and that many sensitive water bodies are under real pressure from faulty septic tanks.
Senator Noonan said: "Government and local authorities need to step up and show leadership on this long running problem. Since testing began in 2013, very little progress has been made in reducing risk.
"We need a significant ramp up in inspections, enforcement, free well water testing and critically, consistency across all local authorities. It is a public health and environmental problem that needs to be dealt with real sense of urgency," the senator added.
