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Badly maintained septic tanks were
found to be a major cause of phosphorous and sewage pollution which
can lead to fish kills and contaminates drinking water.
Green Party spokesperson on Environment Ciarán Cuffe said, "While I
welcome the slight improvement of water quality in some areas noted
in this EPA report, I believe that it is completely unacceptable
that more than one third of our national waterways remain polluted.
"Septic tanks can cause serious ground water pollution unless they
are properly installed and maintained. Minister for the Environment
Dick Roche needs to introduce regulations to ensure that septic
tanks are functioning in a way that is not polluting surrounding
ground water.
"Currently there are no requirements for local authorities or the
EPA to monitor septic tanks, yet they make a significant
contribution to ground water pollution.
"Septic tanks are an environmental time bomb ticking in the
background and the Minister should require that they are monitored
and maintained on a regular basis," concluded Deputy Cuffe.
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