The watchpoints for those who have services on site, from drilling a well to installing a new onsite wastewater treatment system.
Drilling your own well: Watchpoints
The Institute of Geologists of Ireland has guidance on what to look out for when drilling your well.
Location. Water wells must be drilled in locations which minimise the likelihood that the well will be polluted by, for example, septic tanks, farmyard runoff or slurry spreading.
Construction. Wellheads should be constructed so as to ensure that surface water and shallow groundwater, which are likely to be polluted, cannot enter the well. Wells must be cased and grouted to an adequate depth, the casing and grout must meet certain minimum standards, and the placing of the casing and grout must meet a certain specification. Water well drillers and their equipment and methods should meet certain minimum standards. The equipment should be clean, and drilling should not introduce any polluting matter into the ground.
Cleaning. Water wells should be cleaned and disinfected before being brought into use. The methods and materials should meet certain minimum standards.
Testing. Water wells should be tested for yield and quality. A mandatory list of tested chemical and bacteriological parameters should be specified.
Grants. In ROI you can apply to your local authority to rehabilitate your well, covering 85 per cent of approved costs (min €750, max €3,000 grant). If you need a new well, the maximum grant is €5,000. Filtration and ultraviolet (UV) treatment may qualifty for 100 per cent funding up to a maximum of €1,000. This can be claimed on its own or in addition to either the grant for rehabilitation works or the grant for a new well.
In NI, consult with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), daera-ni.gov.uk; your local authority is also available for advice and help with testing water quality. In ROI refer to the IGI guidelines for building a well, igi.ie, also see protectyourwell.ie and epa.ie.
Wastewater watchpoints
Cathal Keane, Graf managing director, says: Before installing your onsite wastewater treatment system, here’s what to check for.
Found on Site Characterisation form submitted with planning: In ROI once the onsite percolation test is completed, a site characterisation form is completed and sent as part of the planning application. This report dictates the type of percolation area required, i.e. trenches, low pressure networks, raised beds, etc. It’s also determining whether you’re installing a septic tank or packaged treatment plant and the Population equivalent (PE) of the treatment plant among other details.
Access: The tank is a big piece of kit, which means access will be required to install the system. In some cases this will require a temporary roadway installed to lower the tank into the ground directly from the delivery truck. Other tanks can be put in by digger.
Check the levels of sewer pipes from the house, as this will determine if pumps or risers for the systems are required.
Electrical requirements for the system being installed; this needs to be sorted in advance.
Know what backfill is required: concrete or stone. Have it ready on site.
Rainwater
Futureproof your house have all the downpipes meet at one soak pit location, to enable the addition of a rainwater harvesting tank later down the line.
