Over Half Of Septic Tanks Inspected Last Year Failed Because Of Structural Defects Or Low Maintenance, EPA Found

Thursday, 30 June 2022 09:49

By Caoimhe Harney

The Environmental Protection Agency found some septic tanks deemed to pose threat to human health have not been repaired

More than 500 septic tanks that were judged to be a threat to human health have not been repaired though the owners were notified two years ago, according to

The EPA warned that these faulty septic tanks were leading to discharges into ditches and streams and sewage ponding in gardens.

It said these septic tanks failed local authority inspections and advisory notices were issued, but nothing was subsequently done despite there being grants of up to €5,000 to assist in addressing malfunctioning systems.

There were 1,147 inspections of septic tanks and other domestic waste water treatment systems in 2021, 604 failed inspections because they were not built or maintained properly.

The EPA’s national inspection plan has set targets for local authorities to inspect more than 1,000 waste-water systems every year

However,there has been a consistent failure rate of between 44% and 57% per since the inspections were brought in nine years ago.

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