More than 10% of Irish people get their water from private water supplies. On the face of things, they may be considered fortunate to avoid water charges and to have the independence of their own water source. In Ireland, the quality of water from the public water system are normally quite high. They must meet exacting EU drinking water standards. This may not be the case for private wells and the Environmental Protection Agency estimate that up to 30% may be occasionally contaminated by E. coli (an indicator of recent pollution by human or animal waste. Last year the EPA warned that ‘The quality of drinking water from private supplies continued to deteriorate, putting the health of one million people in Ireland at an unacceptable risk. The quality of the water from a single house private use well is entirely the responsibility of the owner. While local authorities ask that all boreholes and private wells be registered, no analysis or treatment is carried out by any regulatory bodies.
Water that is safe to drink should ideally be clear with no odour or odd taste. While cloudy water is not necessarily dangerous to your health, it could be a sign that there are unsafe pathogens or chemicals lurking within. If there are infectious organisms (bugs, bacteria, germs), the water could be boiled until safe to drink again it. Again, our team of environmental technicians can advise on each individual case. Bacteria is the most common contagion in Irish private wells People with VTEC (a form of E. coli) are more than four times more likely than the general population to have consumed untreated water from private water supplies. Ireland continues to have the highest incidence of VTEC in Europe. The bacteria can cause debilitating illness and in a small number of cases long-term kidney failure. Clean water is essential to good health. If water test results indicate that your well is contaminated, you will need to take action to decontaminate and protect from the source of the pollution. There is no one size fits all solution to remedial work on a private water source and restoring the well to good clean water is dependent on the pollutants, the location of the water source and many outside factors.
The governing bodies, the EPA, the local authorities, and environmental scientists in Ireland continue to be concerned about the condition of water in private, single use wells. The EPA have said ‘Poorly constructed wells and inadequate monitoring of private water supplies pose the greatest health risk, which is further heightened after periods of heavy rainfall. With many private wells unregistered and unmonitored, they urge more frequent testing and supervision of these wells. The good news is that a grant may be available under the Rural Water Programme for the completion of improvement works on private water wells.
Private testing is available for all private well owners who need reassurance that their water is fit to drink. At a minimum, it is recommended that private water wells be tested for E. coli and coliform Bacteria. The test for bacterial contamination should be conducted at least once a year and for chemical contamination testing should be carried out every three years. An environmental technician can advise on any other tests that would be advisable, for example, if your well is located near farming activities, it is advisable to include nitrate in your testing suite, or additional bacteriological testing may be required after a period of heavy rain. Should anyone in your household become ill with diarrhoea or vomiting, then a water test would be advisable. Skilled environmental scientists at Enviroleak can carry out these tests for you. We conduct an analysis which will conform to the European Communities Drinking water regulations 2014 (SI. No.122 of 2014) and test for pH, total hardness, nitrates, nitrite, aomonia, iron, manganese, chloride, conductivity, coliforms, E Coli and enterococci. Our expert team can also advise on the various water analysis which may need to be undertaken, for lead, copper fluoride and pesticides where indicated. We want you to be confident that the water from your private well is safe for you and your loved ones. It is important to note that a microbiological and chemical test will only show how the water quality is on the day of the test and it may be necessary to retest a few times.
At Enviroleak, we are pleased to advise and assist private well owners on keeping their water pure, on testing and analysis of their private water source. We offer reassurance, confidence, and the security of knowing that your drinking water is the best quality that it can be.
Get in touch
