Poorly constructed wells and inadequate monitoring of private water supplies pose the greatest health risk, which is further heightened after periods of heavy rainfall, it warns in its latest evaluation of private supplies. E coli was found in 62 small private water supplies serving commercial buildings or public buildings during 2018. The report concludes the quality of drinking water in private supplies, which are mostly sourced from wells, is poorer than that in publicly-sourced supplies. Public group water schemes were 100 per cent compliant, while the rate in private group water schemes and small private supplies was 95.4 per cent. A total of 126 boil water notices affecting more than 10,000 people were issued to consumers of water in private water supplies, while 91 audits of private supplies were carried out by 15 local authorities.

Source: The Irish Times January 15, 2020 15:22 UTC