The Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) has published details of Septic Tank inspections for 2023. Nearly half of the 1,189 tanks tested across the country failed their inspection. These locations were targeted as they are near rivers and household drinking water wells which are most at risk of contamination by faulty septic tanks.
The EPA sets out the minimum number of inspections to be carried out each year by each Council. County Tipperary Council is mandated to complete 40 inspections and met this target by completing exactly 40 inspections last year. In the ten years between 2013 and 2023 169 failing tanks were detected in the county. To date 72% of these have been repaired.
The EPA is warning that failure to fix faulty septic tanks cannot be allowed to continue and that enforcement by local authorities is inconsistent and needs to improve
There are nearly half a million septic tanks installed on properties that are not connected to public sewage systems around the country. The report from the EPA found there were 576 cases where issues notified to householders over two years previously had still not been addressed.
The Government offers a grants scheme, administered by Tipperary county Council with up to €12,000 available for the repair of faulty septic tanks as of January 1st this year. The previous grant level was €5,000.
