Water quality risk as more than 100 of 1,400 private supplies fail bacteria tests 

One million people in Ireland get their drinking water from a private supply, the EPA said, with many more drinking water from small private supplies. Picture: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie

More than 100 of the country's approximately 1,400 private water supplies failed the test for bacteria at the end of 2019, thereby putting lives at risk, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The agency said 88 of the 1,418 small private supplies monitored failed to meet the standards relating to bacteria, which it said is the most important indicator of safe drinking water. 

Some 20 of the 417 private group schemes monitored during the year, serving approximately 3,000 people, failed to meet the standards, it added.

The failure in more than 100 private water supplies is of significant concern and puts the thousands of users of these supplies at risk, the EPA said.

Some of these bacteria can make people very ill, particularly young children, the elderly, or those who are immunocompromised, the report concluded.

One million people in Ireland get their drinking water from a private supply, the EPA said, with many more drinking water from small private supplies like hotels, pubs and restaurants, crèches, nursing homes and national schools daily.

Water monitoring

The agency also sounded the alarm bells about water monitoring.

One in five known small private supplies were not monitored in 2019, which would ensure they are providing a clean and safe supply of drinking water, the EPA said.

One in five known small private supplies were not monitored in 2019, which would ensure they are providing a clean and safe supply of drinking water, the EPA said.

Those unmonitored include supplies serving food businesses, nursing homes, creches and B&Bs.

If a supply has not been monitored, it makes it impossible to be confident that the water is safe to drink, and local authorities must ensure that monitoring is undertaken in line with regulations, the EPA said.

Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement, Dr Tom Ryan, said consumers should be confident that their water is safe to drink. 

Water suppliers are obliged to make sure their water supply is clean and wholesome and is in compliance with the water quality standards. It is critical that monitoring is undertaken and, if issues are identified, action must be taken to protect human health

The report said that drinking water can also become contaminated with nitrates if human or animal organic waste or nitrate from fertiliser enters the water supply. 

Four private group water schemes and 20 small private supplies which were monitored for nitrates in 2019 failed to meet the standard, the report found.

"In addition, eight private group schemes and four small private supplies failed to meet the Trihalomethanes (THM) standard in 2019. THMs are disinfection by-products, which form when natural organic matter in the water source reacts with chlorine used in disinfection," the report stated.

"Disinfection is the most important aspect of providing safe drinking water, so the challenge is to minimise the amount of trihalomethanes formed, while still ensuring that disinfection is effective."

Some 106 group water schemes, mainly in rural areas, require upgrades to improve drinking water quality, the EPA's Andy Fanning said.

It is also essential that the Government improves governance and supports for the rural water sector, he added.