Half of Donegal’s septic tanks failed inspection last year
The latest report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has shown that 51% of wastewater systems in Donegal failed inspection in 2024.
The latest report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has shown that 51% of wastewater systems in Donegal failed inspection in 2024.
A total of 1,390 Domestic Waste Water Treatment System (DWWTS) inspections were carried out in Ireland in 2024, with 77 of those inspections taking place across Donegal. This was down from 107 in 2023.
Local authorities issue advisory notices to households requiring householders to fix any issues when failing an inspection. Donegal has reported 399 inspection failures in 11 years.
Householders can avail of a grant of up to €12,000, increased recently from €5,000, to remediate their septic tanks. There were 265 grants awarded last year, up from 194 in 2023 across the country. Nationally, 82% of failures between 2013 and 2024 were fixed by the end of last year, with that figure mirrored in Donegal.
The EPA announced in 2024 that Moville and Rathmullan were among sixteen towns and villages discharging raw sewage into the environment. Moville was also among ten large towns and cities where wastewater treatment did not meet European Union standards set to protect the environment.
Nationally, 56% of the treatment systems failed inspection because they weren’t built or maintained properly. Under its national inspection plan, the EPA obliges local authorities to complete a minimum of 1,200 inspections annually.
Donegal was one of four counties not to meet this target. The local authority in the county was required to do 107 inspections. The 30 examinations that were not completed last year will now have to be done by the end of this year.
“Householders’ water supplies and local rivers may be exposed to contamination from faulty septic tanks, which can pose a serious health risk to individuals and the local environment,” EPA programme manager Noel Byrne has warned.
Dr Micheál Lehane, the Director of the EPA’s Office of Radiation Protection and Environmental Monitoring, said the number of unresolved issues remains “unacceptably high,” which allows risks to public health to continue.
“Greater and sustained enforcement effort is needed by local authorities during their annual septic tank inspections, checking that faulty septic tanks are fixed and taking legal action where necessary,” he urged.