Sir, – Four hundred years is a long time. At current rates of inspection that is how long it will take local authorities to inspect all of the estimated 500,000 septic tanks in Ireland.
This number is based on the recent report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which states that local authorities carried out 1,143 inspections of septic tanks in 2022.
Some 49 per cent of these inspections failed and 20 per cent were considered a risk to human health and the environment, as they can contaminate drinking water and pollute rivers.
So, of the estimated 500,000 septic tanks in the country, 250,000 would likely fail an inspection today and a further 100,000 are probably contaminating household drinking water and our river systems.
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Cars, which are no threat to our drinking water or river systems, although extremely damaging in terms of CO2 emissions, must be inspected every year or two depending on the vehicle’s age.
In France, all septic tanks are subject to a compulsory inspection at least once every 10 years (usually between four and eight years) by the Service Public d’Assainissement Non-Collectif. However, in Ireland, if you have a septic tank and are concerned about an official inspection, don’t panic. Your local authority will call to you some time over the next 400 years. – Yours, etc,
MIKE FINEGAN,
Dublin 14.
