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A review undertaken by the Environmental Protection Agency shows that almost half of household septic tanks fail inspection. Photo: iStock

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have released a review of the implementation of the National Inspection Plan for Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems 2013, covering the period 1st July 2013 – 30th June 2014. The National Inspection Plan is being implemented by local authorities under the supervision of the EPA.

The review for this period found that: • 987 inspections were carried out by local authority inspectors. • 52 per cent of domestic waste water treatment systems passed inspection. • More than half the failures were due to lack of de-sludging. • 79 per cent of the inspected systems are now compliant with the regulations, following remediation work by householders.

Advice to assist householders in maintaining their domestic waste water treatment systems is available through local authority leaflets and websites. Extensive information for homeowners is also available on the EPA website

PREVENTABLE

Gerard O'Leary, Director, EPA's Office of Environmental Enforcement said, “The inspections have, for the first time, allowed for the systematic collection of information on the condition of domestic waste water treatment systems in Ireland. The results show that many of the failures could have been prevented. Inspections are now a routine part of local authority work”.

David Flynn, Programme Manager of EPA's Office of Environmental Enforcement advised, “There are simple steps that homeowners can take, have the sludge emptied from your tank on a regular basis using a permitted contractor, retain the receipt, and if you have a package treatment system it needs a regular scheduled service.”

The report is now available on the EPA website – www.epa.ie. While the EPA now invites submissions on the proposals for the next plan, which is proposed to cover the period 2015-2017.

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