The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Health Service Executive (HSE) run an information campaign on the subject of the contamination of private well water supplies.

This information campaign came about after there was a dramatic increase in the number of cases of VTEC reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) in 2012 (up 100%) which continued in 2013. Ireland has the highest incident rate of VTEC in Europe. Analysis of VTEC cases by the HPSC has found that patients are up to 4 times more likely to have consumed untreated water from private wells.

Also the EPA has reported that up to 30% of private wells in Ireland are contaminated (EPA, 2010). The Central Statistics Office states that approximately 170,000 domestic properties are supplied by private wells (www.cso.ie).

Private water supplies, including private wells, are currently classified as “exempted supplies” under the European Union (Drinking Water) Regulations, 2014. This means that there is no requirement to monitor such supplies nor is there any regulatory supervision of such supplies.

Well owners should check their wells to ensure their health is not at risk. This includes checking that there aren’t any sources of pollution entering their well and testing the well water at least once a year, ideally following heavy rain when it is most at risk of contamination. Disinfection kills all E. coli including VTEC and, while public water supplies are disinfected, most private wells are not.

The EPA have provided easy to use information on its website explaining what well owners should do to protect their health as well as a simple animation to explain the risks. Click on the following link - http://www.epa.ie/water/dw/hhinfo/

Also the EPA have a web app called “Protecting Your Well” which allows users to self-assess whether their well is at risk of contamination.

Information on Well Grants

Under the Department of Environment’s scheme, if your house is more than 7 years old and not connected to either a public or a group scheme, you may be eligible for a grant (subject to some conditions). The grant is worth up to €2,031.58 (or 75% of the cost of the work, whichever is the lesser) and must be used to provide a new water supply or to upgrade an existing one. Only one grant per house will be allowed in any 10-year period. In order to qualify for the grant, the proposed work must cost more than €635. A local authority inspection will be carried out before any work starts.

The kind of work that would be eligible for the grant is the drilling of a new well or the provision of essential pumping or water filtration/disinfection equipment.

Click on the following links for an Individual Well Grant Application Form and Explanatory Memo below;