Council urged to speed up septic tank inspections

It will take more than 200 years to inspect all the defective septic tanks in Westmeath if the county council continues its current rate of inspections, provided only 10% of them are defective and none of the other 90% become defective in the intervening two centuries. So suggested Cllr Paul Hogan at a meeting of the council’s Environment, Climate Change, Water and Emergency SPC.

He said that there are 12,500 septic tanks in the county, according to latest CS0 figures. With the council carrying out five or six inspections a year, it would take them 208 years to inspect 10% of them. He asked that inspections be outsourced to contractors to speed up the process.

From January, the maximum grant for upgrading a septic tank will increase from €5,000 to €12,000, and remaining at a maximum of 85% of the cost. The requirement that tanks must have been previously registered has been removed.

Ambrose Clarke, senior engineer, said details of the new scheme will be available on the council website.

Cllr Paddy Hill said that if the government are serious about waste water management, they should give the grant to anyone who believes their septic tank is defective, without an inspection. He said older septic tanks are causing a problem, but how much of a problem?

Environmental consultant, Jack O’Sullivan, suggested that new builds may now have proprietary waste water treatment systems, not septic tanks. He wondered if those systems and composting toilets were grant aided. Only when we stop putting our waste water into the ground will we be able to clean up our waterways, he stated.

Adrian Ennis said that dry toilets were more suited to use in tourist areas than private houses. He said that if agricultural advisors could approve applications for grants for agricultural sheds, it would speed things up.

Mr Clarke said that evidence that the septic tank is causing pollution should be submitted with the grant application so that it is prioritised for inspection. He admitted that it is going to be difficult to tackle the issue in 2024 and the council may have to take staff from other departments. He pointed out that other areas such as Lough Ennell will also have to be prioritised.

The chair, Cllr Tom Farrell, urged applicants to send in evidence of pollution with their applications.

Cllr Johnnie Penrose welcomed the increased grants, saying he gets a lot of queries about septic tanks. He asked that details of the new scheme be posted clearly on the council website as soon as possible.

Deirdre Reilly, director of services, said every grant application requires an inspection, but you don’t have to wait for an inspection to send in your application.

It’s great to have extra grant money and to have the registration requirement removed, but the council will have to see if the number of applications increases and from where resources can be moved, she said. She was not prepared to give a guarantee that staff would be moved, but it will be considered, as will the suggestion of outsourcing inspections to independent contractors.