The health of about 5,500 people was put at risk by e.coli in private drinking water schemes in Ireland last year due to failure of disinfection systems, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says.
Meeting E.coli standards is a basic requirement in the provision of safe drinking water, the EPA says, but 14 private group schemes were found to have E. coli contamination in 2022.
This indicates that the water supply “has not been properly disinfected”, it says.
Public supplies have not been free of contamination over the past year, with offshore islands experiencing boil water notices as Afloat has reported.
Earlier this month, a boil water notice on the Clare Island public water supply was lifted by Uisce Eireann.
The notice, which was issued in June, was put in place to protect the health of customers on the island following the detection of cryptosporidium in the water supply. Works are "progressing" to upgrade the island’s water treatment plant, Uisce Eireann says.
In a report released today (Friday Oct 20) EPA says that private drinking water quality is not as good as public water quality.
It says the total number of small private supplies remains unknown as not all have registered with their local authority.
The EPA monitored 84 per cent of registered small private supplies last year, compared with 75 percent in 2021.
It says that a government review of the rural water sector identified several key issues in the provision of rural water that need to be addressed to protect public health.
Drinking water is provided to approximately 200,000 people across rural communities in Ireland, by over 380 group water schemes.
In addition, many rural commercial and public activities such as schools, creches, nursing homes, pubs and restaurants have their own drinking water wells, it says.
There are 1,700 small private supplies registered with local authorities, but the total number of small private supplies remains unknown, as many suppliers haven’t registered their supply.
The Drinking Water Quality in Private Group Schemes and Small Private Supplies 2022 report is published by the EPA.