Private Water Supply

If your water supply is from a private source e.g. well or borehole and supplies an individual’s house, this is known as a private supply and you are responsible for monitoring the quality of your own supply. You must bear the cost of the testing yourself and if your supply is contaminated, you must organise and pay for any treatment that is needed. You may be eligible for a well grant for upgrading your water supply and/or installing water treatment systems from Monaghan County Council. Further information on grants for private water supply by visiting the Well Grants section.

The HSE publishes detailed information on the risk of illness from well water. It recommends that wells should be tested at least once a year for microbial contamination, and at least once every 3 years for chemical contamination.

To get your supply checked for a fee you can arrange to have a sample tested using a private laboratory. It is not recommended that you take a water sample yourself as equipment has to be sterile. As noted above, the HSE also publishes advice and guidance on the dangers to human health caused by poor water quality.

The EPA has published extensive information for householders on protecting private wells, including an online tool for assessing whether your http://www.epa.ie well is at risk. The EPA also provide “Advice for Private Well Owners Affected by Flooding”

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has also published a leaflet outlining the risk to your well water being affected by your septic tank (see leaflet below).

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/f42e7-is-your-well-at-risk-from-your-septic-tank-leaflet/

For information on

  • How to protect your water supply
  • Where to get your water supply tested and what parameters to test for
  • General Information on Drinking Water Quality

 

Visit: www.epa.ie/water/dw/hhinfo

 

You can find out more about this by calling or emailing Monaghan County Council Rural Water Services using the contact details below:

Email: ruralwater@monaghancoco.ie

Telephone: 047 73769

 

Private Regulated Water Supply

If your water supply is from a private source i.e. borehole or river, and supplies over 50 persons on average or has a commercial or public interest this is a deemed a Private Regulated Water Supply. All private regulated water supplies must be registered with Monaghan County Council.

Monaghan County Council has a duty under the European Union (Drinking Water) Regulations 2023 (S.I No 99/2023) to monitor the quality of private regulated drinking water supplies within the county. Monitoring of water supplies at consumer taps in the county is carried out by Monaghan County Council. We then provide the reports from our tests to the Environmental Protection Agency who assess and publish their own reports on the drinking water quality.

In the case of private regulated water supplies, Monaghan County Council is the supervisory authority. They have the same role that the EPA has for public supplies. If a private regulated water supply falls below the Drinking Water Regulations standards, the local authority notifies the owner of the scheme. The owner must submit an action programme to the local authority which will address the problem within a certain timescale. The local authority has legal enforcement powers if appropriate action is not taken.

For all regulated private water supplies, the HSE is informed if there is a potential danger to human health and agrees remedial actions with the local authority for the protection of public health.

To find out more information on drinking water quality results in County Monaghan please click on the following link:

Drinking Water Quality Results