At least a quarter of the 200,000 wells in the State providing water for almost a million people "exhibit some degree of contamination", according to the Institute of Geologists of Ireland (IGI).
"The problem is we don't even know how many wells are involved," said Mr Eugene Daly of IGI. "We need to decide how the nation's water supplies are to be managed in the future. Clean water is not free."
Guidelines for groundwater protection were published yesterday by the IGI, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Environment and Local Government. The IGI said it would set groundwater quality as one of its priorities for the future as part of its establishment this week as the new professional body for the geo-sciences.
