One Private Group Water Schemes in Donegal failed the standard for E. coli last year, putting the health of hundreds of consumers at risk.
The scheme, on Tory Island, was among 22 across the State which fell below accepted levels.
The finding was contained in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) latest Drinking Water Quality report which was published today.
Private Group Schemes (PGS) are set up by community groups. They source, treat and distribute drinking water to their scheme members
According to the EPA, there are 37 such schemes registered in Donegal.
Nationally, the number of drinking water private group schemes with E. coli failures went up in 2023.
Launching the report, Dr Tom Ryan, EPA Director said:
“All drinking water produced in Ireland, whether it comes from a public or private supply, should be of high quality. Urgent action is needed by suppliers and local authorities to address these failings, in order to protect the public health of consumers.
Local authorities must take proactive steps to identify and register small private supplies in their areas and the legislation needs to be amended to make it an offence for a supplier not to be registered, in the interests of public health.”
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