So, how clean is Ireland’s groundwater?
In Ireland, human activities have not yet caused the same degree of pollution problems to groundwater as in most other EU countries. However, an increasing number of localised problems are coming to the attention of the GSI and groundwater researchers, mainly where wells are polluted by septic tanks and farmyards. Beneath some septic tanks and farmyards are pockets of contaminated groundwater. As these sources are associated with houses, water wells are often located nearby, and may be in or close to the polluted pockets of groundwater. So, although the actual quantity of polluted groundwater is small, it can result in significant health risks. In many areas, at least 30% of private domestic and farm wells are contaminated, in some vulnerable areas more than 50% are contaminated at some time during their use. Most of these wells are not just contaminated chemically but are polluted by faecal bacteria, and probably viruses. Pollution of groundwater in Ireland tends to be mainly microbio
