The Irish Times view on private water supplies: Not up to standard Land management critical when it comes to surface waters which make up majority of supplies
Mon, Feb 15, 2021, 01:38
The latest EPA assessment of water from private supplies, which mainly arise in rural areas, confirms an unacceptable level of public health risk for many thousands of people. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA Wire
More than a fifth of the Irish population receive drinking water from private supplies, including 417 group water schemes, 1,778 small private supplies registered with local authorities and some 180,000 private wells that are not regulated.
The latest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assessment of water from these sources, which mainly arise in rural areas, confirms an unacceptable level of public health risk for many thousands of people. There are too many instances where significant supplies go unmonitored or there is lack of robust governance at local authority level. In 2019, 108 of