Failure to fix faulty septic tanks is a risk to human health and the environment, and can’t continue, says Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Local authorities completed 1,189 septic tank inspections in 2023, targeted near rivers and household drinking water wells, which are most at risk of contamination by faulty septic tanks.
45% of septic tanks failed inspection. It is critically important that householders fix septic tanks that fail inspection as such failures have the potential to be a risk to human health and the environment.
Enforcement by local authorities is inconsistent and needs to improve, with Waterford, Roscommon and Kilkenny having the lowest rates of septic tank failures resolved.
Grants for fixing septic tanks have increased from €5,000 to €12,000.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released the report on Domestic Waste Water Treatment System Inspections 2023, which details the findings of septic tank inspections completed by local authorities in 2023. Of the 1,189 septic tanks inspected, 45% (532) failed because they were not built or maintained properly.
Water Service Authority.
Inspections Required 2023.
Inspections Completed 2023.
Systems Failing between 2013 & 2023.
Percent Fixed 2023.
Co. Tipperary
40
40
169
only72%
Comparisons:‘Percent Fixed’ for Co. Louth was 98%, Co. Wicklow97%, Fingal97%, South Dublin94%, Co. Longford88%, Co. Cavan89%, Co. Limerick84% and Co. Cork90%, leaving Co. Tipperary(shown on the above table) only moderately rated, when it comes to percentage of failures fixed.
Domestic waste water treatment systems, mostly septic tanks, are used by householders to treat sewage. There are nearly half a million systems in Ireland. The EPA’s National Inspection Plan 2022-2026 has identified the number of inspections that need to be completed, particularly near rivers and in areas where septic tanks are co-located with household drinking water wells. Local authorities are required to complete a minimum of 1,200 inspections annually as part of their implementation of the plan.
Commenting on the report, Dr Tom Ryan, Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement said, “Faulty septic tanks are a risk to human health and the environment and must be fixed. The EPA, through the National Inspection Plan, has identified rivers and areas where household drinking water wells are most at risk of contamination by faulty septic tanks. Local authority inspections are targeted in these areas. It is critical that householders protect their family’s health and the environment by fixing the problems identified, drawing on the enhanced grants now available.”
Where septic tanks fail inspection, local authorities issue advisory notices to householders setting out what is required to fix the problem. The EPA report found that there were 576 cases where issues notified to householders over two years previously had still not been addressed.
The grant schemes for remediation of septic tanks were changed at the start of 2024 to increase the amount from €5,000 to €12,000 and remove the requirement to have registered the septic tank in 2013. This presents a significant opportunity for householders to fix their septic tanks and resolve open advisory notices.
Mr Noel Byrne, EPA Programme Manager said, “It is unacceptable that the number septic tanks left un-fixed for more than two years continues to rise. Greater enforcement is needed by local authorities to ensure failed systems are fixed. Where faulty septic tanks are not being fixed, particularly given the availability of the enhanced grant scheme, local authorities need to use their enforcement powers to protect the environment and public health.”
The National Inspection Plan for Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems 2022 – 2026 was published by the EPA in 2021. The plan requires a minimum of 1,200 inspections from 2023 onwards. There was a shortfall in inspections by five local authorities in 2023 and these need to be completed in 2024. The EPA issued legal directions to make up for shortfalls in inspections by Waterford County Council in 2022 and to Galway County Council in 2023.
Another question for ‘Canvassing Councillors’ and ‘Would Be MEP’s’ calling to your door.
Took a walk by the River Suir in Thurles today in the beautiful warm sunshine. Having surveyed the river area, I was reminded of the song “Down by the river”, written by Mike Hazlewood and British singer-songwriter and composer Albert Louis Hammond. The lyrics, shown hereunder, tell the story of a man and his girl friend taking a camping trip down by a river. The weather being warm; they both decide to go swimming. That night they both felt unwell, and having failed to get sleep, went for an early morning walk. During their walk, they see a silver fish lying on its side dead on the river bank and they wonder how it died. After visiting a doctor, they are informed that only foolish people go swimming in polluted river water.
The song highlights the negative environmental impact on our water, which is being accepted by our local elected Thurles politicians and councillors, to whom we pay large salaries and who are presently calling door to door, in the hope of being re-elected for yet another 5 years of waste and inactivity.
Ask those canvassing for your vote this time around, the following question “Where did the pump for the fountain, in the river Suir end up”. You will be surprised and possibly angered by the reply.
Down By The River.
Lyrics: British-Gibraltarian singer, songwriter and record producer Mike Hazlewood and British singer-songwriter and composer Albert Louis Hammond. Vocals: Albert Hammond.
Down By The River.
City life was gettin’ us down, So we spent the weekend out of town, Pitched the tent on a patch of ground, Down by the river. Lit a fire and drank some wine, You put your jeans on the top of mine, Said, come in the water’s fine, Down by the river. Down by the river. Down by the river. Said, come in the water’s fine, Down by the river. Didn’t feel too good all night, So we took a walk in the morning light, Came across the strangest sight, Down by the river. Silver fish lay on its side, It was washed up by the early tide, I wonder how it died, Down by the river. Down by the river. Down by the river. Silver fish lay on its side, Down by the river. Doctor put us both to bed, He dosed us up and he shook his head, “Only foolish people go”, he said, “Down by the river”. Why do willows weep, said he, Because they’re dying gradually, From the waste, from the factories, Down by the river. Down by the river. Down by the river. Why do willows weep, said he, Down by the river. In time, the river banks will die, The reeds will wilt and the ducks won’t fly, There’ll be a tear in the otter’s eye, Down by the river. The banks will soon be black and dead, And where the otter raised his head, Will be a clean white stone instead, Down by the river. Down by the river. Down by the river. The banks will soon be black and dead, Down by the river. Down by the river. Down by the river. The banks will soon be black and dead, Down by the river.
Food Safety Authority of Ireland(FSAI) recall batch of Calm Releaf CBD Oil due to the presence of unsafe levels of Delta‐9‐tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Alert Summary dated Wednesday, May 1st, 2024. Category 1: For Action. Alert Notification: 2024.17. Product Identification: Calm Releaf CBD Oil; pack size: 10 ml. Batch Code: AS1223; best before date: 01.11.24.
Message: The above batch of Calm Releaf CBD Oil is being recalled due to the presence of unsafe levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (∆9THC) in excess of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) acute reference dose. Recall notices will be displayed at point-of-sale.
Action Required: Manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, caterers & retailers: Retailers are requested to remove the implicated batch from sale and display recall notices at point-of-sale.
Consumers: Consumers are advised not to consume the implicated batch.
Food Safety Authority of Ireland recall of a batch of Ecosana Copo Teff Bio (Organic Teff Flakes) due to presence of tropane alkaloids.
Alert Summary dated today Tuesday, April 30th 2024.
Category 1: For Action. Alert Notification: 2024.16. Product Identification: Ecosana Copo Teff Bio, pack size: 500g. Batch Code: C11109, best before date: 28/02/2025. Country Of Origin: Spain.
Message: The above identified batch of Ecosana Copa Teff Bio (Organic Teff Flakes) is being recalled due to the presence of tropane alkaloids. A recall notice has been emailed to online shoppers. Tropane alkaloids are naturally occurring plant constituents found in a variety of plant species. Plants produce tropane alkaloids to protect themselves from predators (e.g. insects). Contamination of food can occur if parts (mostly seeds) of tropane alkaloid containing plants are unintentionally harvested with agricultural crops.
Nature Of Danger: Symptoms can include a change in heart rate, decreased salivary and sweat secretion, pupil dilation, dizziness, headache, nausea, hallucination and disorientation.
Action Required: Consumers: Consumers are advised not to eat the implicated stated batch.
“Little Miss Muffet, she sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey. Along came a spider, who sat down beside her, and frightened Miss Muffet away.
As promised on April 21st, 2024, a 269 year old recipe, adapted from the manuscript book of Catherine Hughes, Killenaule, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, dated 1755, and published by Mrs Theodora FitzGibbon, in her book ‘A Taste Of Ireland’, published 56 years ago, in 1968, is published hereunder.
Milk going to the creamery, pictured in thelate 19th century,at Killenaule, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
Cottage cheese, once considered to be the least desirable item to pick up in your supermarket’s dairy aisle, is now being heralded as one of the best items to put in your shopping basket.
Cottage cheese, as the name implies, is a type of cheese made up of curds and whey liquid (yes, the very thing Miss Muffet was eating before being rudely interrupted by that spider). It hasn’t always been celebrated for it lumpy wet consistency, but health enthusiasts highlight that it is a good source of calcium. More importantly, cottage cheese is naturally very high in protein, with on average, a whopping 11g of protein per 100g. Protein is essential for human growth and repair and for helping us to maintain our muscle as we get older.
A quick internet search will yield hundreds of cottage cheese recipes including pancakes, breads and desserts, but here’s a recipe for cottage cheese that is 269 years old.
Curds (Grut in Irish) formed an extensive part of the diet of the ancient Irish. They are mentioned in the earliest documented sources. Various early cheeses were made from them; one cheese being ‘faiscre grotha’, (Irish meaning literally ‘pressed curd’). The Reverend Richard Hopkins Ryland* in ‘The History, Topography and Antiquities of the County and City of Waterford’, dated 1824, says “Cheese made from skimmed milk and called ‘Mullahawn’ was formally an article of commerce in Waterford and was exported in large quantities…”
*Reverend Richard Hopkins Ryland was born in 1788, the descendant of 16th century Protestant planters who had settled in Dungarvan, Co Waterford. Generations of the family became ‘Church of Ireland’ ministers. Rev. Ryland married Isabella Julia Fleury (latter nine years his junior), the daughter of the Rev. Archdeacon George Louis Fleury of Waterford in 1818; at St. Patrick’s Church, Waterford. The couple had six sons and two daughters. His best known historical work was ‘The History, Topography and Antiquities Of The County And City Of Waterford’, (published 1824), which was dedicated to the Duke of Devonshire, while he also published religious pamphlets. He died in 1866, aged 78 years, followed by his wife Isabella Julia in 1873; aged 76 years, in South Kensington, Middlesex, England. The Tipperary ‘Clonmel Chronicle’ newspaper published her official ‘Death Notice’.
Pastry. 6 oz (6 heaped tablespoons) of flour. 3 oz (3 heat tablespoons) butter. 1 tablespoon sugar. ½ teaspoon salt. Water.
Filling. ½ lb (2 cups) sweet curds or cottage cheese. 2 eggs, separated. 2 heaped tablespoons sugar (vanilla sugar if possible). Grated peel and juice of half lemon. 1 tablespoons of butter.
For the topping. 1 egg and one tablespoon each of sugar, flour and melted butter.
First make the pastry by mixing the fat into the flower, sugar, and salt, to a firm pliable dough with a few tablespoons of water. Cool if possible before using. Make the filling by well mixing the curds with the sugar, soft butter, grated peel and juice of the lemon and the beaten egg yolks. Beat is well, then add the stiffly beaten egg whites. Roll out the pastry to fit a flan-tin, 7 in-8 inch across, line the tin with it and paint the bottom with beaten egg (this prevents the bottom pastry becoming heavy).
Put the filling into the pastry case, and, using the rest of the egg, mix it with the topping sugar, melted butter, and flour. Pour this evenly over the top. Bake in a moderate oven (350° F. electric; gas regulo 4) for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Serve cold, but not chilled, cut into wedges.
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