Ireland is still not meeting safe drinking water standards for 'possibly carcinogenic' trihalomethanes, despite being in trouble with The European Commission.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also found one in 20 private water supplies in Ireland contained E.coli last year, risking the health of around 6,000.
In their latest report on water quality issues across the country, the environment watchdog says despite repeated warnings standards have not improved in several years.
It also hit out at the lack of spending to rectify the problems with private water supplies.
The EPA monitors 380 private group water schemes serving 200,000 people as well as 1,700 private supplies catering daily to around 60,000 people using or working in pubs, hotels, restaurants, creches, schools and nursing homes.
Following their latest round of tests they found 21 private group schemes (7 per cent) serving around 26,000 people failed to meet the standard for Trihalomethanes, which are chemicals that can be found in water treated by chlorine.
According to the HSE website, THMs are classified as ‘possibly carcinogenic’ to humans, while some studies suggest a link between long term exposure with cancer and reproductive impacts.
Ireland is already in hot water with The European Commission over THM compliance.
The European Commission said in May 2020 our government “had failed to take the measures necessary to ensure THM compliance in 44 drinking water supplies, which included 13 PGSs” and the following year referred us to the European Court of Justice.
Compliance with THM standards in 2021 was 93.3 per cent of private group supplies - 21 supplies compared with 22 in 2020.
One in 20 private supplies were also contaminated with E.Coli.
The EPA also said local authorities, which are responsible for ensuring private supplies are monitored for compliance with safe drinking water regulations, are not monitoring over a quarter of small private supplies for E.coli.
Public water supplies fare much better, with just one in 200 failing to meet safety standards.
Despite the latest findings, less than 40 per cent of the €59 million available from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to improve water supplies to group schemes and household wells was drawn down.
Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement, Dr Tom Ryan, said: "Compliance with drinking water standards in private supplies for E.coli and THMs hasn’t improved in recent years.
"It is essential that works to improve water quality are carried out as soon as possible to eliminate serious risks to people’s health.
"Private water suppliers are obliged to make sure their drinking water is clean and wholesome for consumers.
"Local authorities must investigate supplies that fail to meet drinking water quality standards and, where necessary, follow up with enforcement action to protect public health."
The EPA has called on water suppliers to better protect water sources, register their supplies and carry out the necessary infrastructure upgrades.
They said local authorities must ensure all private supplies are registered and monitored and investigate those that fail.
And have called on the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to ensure the necessary works to protect public health are supported and finalise their review of rural water services.
Noel Byrne, Programme Manager of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement added: "Water quality in private supplies consistently lags behind public water quality.
"It is disappointing to see that €36 million of funding was not used by suppliers to address infrastructural needs at problematic private supplies.
"The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage needs to complete its review of rural drinking water services, with the purpose of providing direction and support to water suppliers and to eliminate public health risks."
Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien told Buzz: "The government is providing substantial funding for the rural water sector to secure resilient drinking water supplies and sustainable waste water treatment for our rural areas."
He acknowledged that "Covid-19 restrictions and disruptions during a substantial part of the funding period left the benefiting group water schemes and all the stakeholders concerned (mainly local authorities) with significant challenges in implementing the multi-annual programme” and said the funding remains available.
He called on "owners and operators of these private water supplies and group schemes to pay regard to today’s advice from the EPA and rapidly move to address the remaining risks".
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