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Information on Water Pollution

Water Quality

Preservation and improvement of our surface waters and groundwater is vital. The majority of the rivers in county Westmeath are failing to meet the standards set under the Water Framework Directive .

Everyone can contribute to maintaining and improving the quality of our surface waters and groundwater:

  • Report an activity that may cause pollution.
  • Maintain your septic tank or effluent treatment system in good condition.
  • Ensure that foul and surface water connections are correct. Sinks, showers, toilets, washing machines & dishwashers should drain to the foul system) Roofs, paths, driveways should drain to the surface water system.
  • Do not dispose of fats, oils and grease "down the drain"
  • Do not use an in-sink waste disposal unit. This type of waste should be composted if possible.
  • Enjoy the amenity of our rivers and lakes.
  • Comply with the prohibition periods for the application of manure, slurry, chemical & organic fertiliser which are as follows:
Fertiliser type Prohibition dates

Chemical Fertiliser

15th September -15th of January

organic fertiliser (includes slurry, soiled water and sewage sludge)

15th October – 15th of January

Farmyard Manure

1st November – 15th of January

Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Waters

 

Water Pollution

Invertebrates (or insects) live in our rivers, streams and lakes and are good indicators of water pollution levels. Some can only survive in very clean water. Others can survive even when the water is polluted.  You can get an indication of the water quality of a river or stream by looking at the invertebrates that live in it.  This can be done by finding a stone, roughly the size of your hand, pick it up and turn it over  to see the invertebrates living on it. Try to match them to the pictures here to get an idea of the water quality in your river, stream or lake. Water Pollution Guide I (71kB) Water Pollution Guide II (49kB)

Discharge Licences

Depending on your circumstances, you may require an effluent discharge licence for the discharge of effluent to sewers and waters.

When is an effluent discharge licence required?

An effluent discharge licence is required if:

  • There are discharges of effluent to surface waters, whether domestic, commercial or industrial.
  • All commercial/industrial discharges to groundwaters (including via a percolation area) and domestic effluent discharges that are greater than 5m3/day.
  • There are non-domestic discharges of effluent to public sewers.

Are there exemptions to the licence?

A licence is not required for domestic sewage which does not exceed a volume of 5m3 in any period of 24 hours which is discharged to an aquifer from a septic tank or disposal unit by means of a percolation area or other method.

A licence is also not required for the discharge of domestic sewage to sewers. Large industrial or agricultural activities require an Integrated Pollution Control Licence from the Environmental Protection Agency. Details of the classes of activities which require an Integrated Pollution Control Licence are available at the EPA website.

Who currently holds a licence?

The following two documents provide the details of current and invalid effluent discharge licences.

View the Register Of Section 4 - Licences to discharge trade or sewage effluent to waters

Septic Tank Information

A new section called Householder Information on septic tanks has been created by the EPA  to help householders easily find the information they are looking for on septic tanks. 
 
See below useful documents from the EPA on wells and septic tanks.
 
 
The National Waste Collection Permit Office (NWCPO) keep a register of people authorised to empty septic tanks.  See http://www.nwcpo.ie/permitsearch.aspx.  To be included on this list, you are required to apply to the NWCPO National Waste Collection Permit Office for a waste collection permit (WCP) and be granted a WCP.  NWCPO contact details are:
 
Tel: 057 93 57427
web: www.nwcpo.ie
Fax; 057 93 46868
Email: lduffy@offalycoco.ie

Private Wells

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of cases of VTEC[1]reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) in 2012 (up 100%) which continued in 2013. Ireland has the highest incident rate of VTEC in Europe.  Analysis of VTEC cases by the HPSC has found that patients are up to 4 times more likely to have consumed untreated water from private wells. 

Also the EPA has reported that up to 30% of private wells in Ireland are contaminated (EPA, 2010)[2].  The Central Statistics Office states that approximately 170,000 domestic properties are supplied by private wells (www.cso.ie).

Private water supplies, including private wells, are currently classified as “exempted supplies” under the European Union (Drinking Water) Regulations, 2014. This means that there is no requirement to monitor such supplies nor is there any regulatory supervision of such supplies. 

Private well owners are largely unaware of the risks associated with their water supply and many are under the assumption that they are consuming “pure” water because it originates from groundwater 

The lack of awareness by homeowners of the risks to private water supplies, as well as poor well construction and low levels of treatment provided, is currently a matter of concern for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Well owners should check their wells to ensure their health is not at risk.  This includes checking that there aren’t any sources of pollution entering their well and testing the well water at least once a year, ideally following heavy rain when it is most at risk of contamination. Disinfection kills all E. coli including VTEC and, while public water supplies are disinfected, most private wells are not.

The EPA will be providing easy to use information on its website explaining what well owners should do to protect their health as well as a simple animation to explain the risks and web app Protect Your Well to assist well owners. 

Information on Well Grants

Under the Department of Environment’s scheme, if your house is more than 7 years old and not connected to either a public or a group scheme, you may be eligible for a grant (subject to some conditions). The grant is worth up to €2,031.58 (or 75% of the cost of the work, whichever is the lesser) and must be used to provide a new water supply or to upgrade an existing one. Only one grant per house will be allowed in any 10-year period. In order to qualify for the grant, the proposed work must cost more than €635. A local authority inspection will be carried out before any work starts.

The kind of work that would be eligible for the grant is the drilling of a new well or the provision of essential pumping or water filtration/disinfection equipment.

[1] VTEC are a particular group of the bacterium E. coli.  VTEC infection often causes severe bloody diarrhoea and abdominal cramps although.  In some persons, particularly children under 5 years of age and the elderly, the infection can also cause a complication called haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), in which the red blood cells are destroyed and the kidneys fail.

[2] EPA (2010). Water quality in Ireland 2007-2009. Office of Environmental Assessment, EPA, Wexford, Ireland.

Private Wells Poster Information June 2014 (955kB)

Private Wells Poster as Gaeilge (1,004kB)

Downloads:

Hazardous Waste on Farms

Hazardous wastes are defined as wastes that have the potential to cause harm to human health or the environment.  The properties of hazardous waste can be grouped as follows

  • Physical properties: flammable, explosive, oxidising
  • Health hazard properties: carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic for reproduction, toxic, corrosive, irritant, infectious, harmful.
  • Environmental hazard properties: for aquatic environment, for terrestrial environment, for ozone layer

The following are examples of common wastes that can be encountered on a farm.

Waste Oils  

 

 Batteries

 

Fluorescent tubes 

 

Paints

 

Pesticides   

 

Needles

 

Waste Medicines

 

Waste Chemicals

 

Other types of hazardous waste which may occur occasionally on farms include the following:

  • Refrigerant gases from redundant refrigeration equipment
  • Asbestos from maintenance or building works on older buildings
  • PCBs contained in old electrical transformers

 

Hazardous waste should be treated with the respect it deserves. In terms of waste chemicals, the key is to look at the label on the product to determine if it is hazardous or not, i.e. are any of the following on the packaging

Corrosive Material 

 Corrosive Materials

Dangerous for the environment

 Dangerous for the Environment

Explosive    

 Explosive

Flammable

 Flammable

Oxidizing Material  

 Oxidizing Material

Extremely Toxic

 Extremely Toxic

Harmful

 Harmful

 

 

What to do with Hazardous wastes

  • Those supplying you in some cases will also offer a take back scheme – check with your suppliers.
  • See "Good Practice Guide for Empty Pesticide Containers below.
  • Hazardous waste may be collected by an Authorised waste collector or brought to an Authorised waste facility. Please contact the Environment Section on 044 93 32166 to ensure the collector/facility has a permit.

How to prevent hazardous waste

  1. Look for alternatives or products that are less damaging to the environment.
  2. Use products such as chemicals before they go out of date.
  3. Only purchase the amounts needed.
  4. Store and dispose of hazardous waste through a licenced waste contractor.

Triple Rinsing - Guidelines and best practice

Triple Rinsing of chemical containers may not necessarily render them non hazardous or suitable for recycling. The effectiveness of the rinsing depends on whether or not the chemical has infiltrated the fabric of the container, and this depends on the type of chemical, how long the container has been stored and under what conditions. Your supplier/manufacturer should be able to advise you on whether the chemical is likely to have infiltrated the fabric of the container. You should contact your supplier/manufacturer in advance to establish this information before embarking on any triple rinsing procedure.

  1. Empty the pesticide into the sprayer tank and let the container drain for 30 seconds.
  2. Fill the container 10 percent to 20 percent full of water or rinse solution.
  3. Put the cover on the container.
  4. Swirl the container to rinse all inside surfaces.
  5. Add the rinsate to the spray tank and let drain for 30 seconds.
  6. Repeat steps 2 through 5 two more times.
  7. Inspect the container to be sure it is clean. Chemical may remain in the corners, the handle and container threads. This must be removed. Also, be sure drips on the outside of containers are cleaned off.
  8. Put the cover back on the container and dispose of according to label directions. If containers are to be recycled, leave the cover off and store in a dry, secure area.
  9. It is the responsibility of every farmer to ensure that they do not present contaminated containers for recycling.

Good Practice Guide for Empty Pesticide Containers

“This Good Practice Guide provides straight forward guidance for the safe and environmentally friendly recovery of empty plant protection product containers which are sometimes referred to as pesticide product containers or PPP containers. Only triple rinsed empty pesticide containers, managed in accordance with the 7 STEPS: Good Practice Guide can be classified as non-hazardous waste

Generally farmers in Ireland use pesticides in the form of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides as part of their farming activities on crops and grassland.  Empty pesticide containers are potentially hazardous wastes if not managed appropriately and can represent a management challenge for many farming enterprises.  It is estimated that approximately 365 tonnes of pesticide containers are placed on the Irish market annually.  To assist farmers in managing this waste, national agencies have collaborated in producing support guidance for farmers on how to manage these empty pesticide containers.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) have jointly prepared and published the 7 STEPS: Good Practice Guide for Empty Pesticide Containers.”

Please see attached brochure for more information:Good Practice Guide for Empty Pesticide Containers (944kB)