Ellis Well Drilling – Grant Information

New water Well Grants:

The updated grant is available under the rural water programme 2020. The objective of the grant scheme is to financially assist households dependent on private individual water supplies, providing a supply of water to a single house by means of a source that is not common or shared.

To provide a piped supply of water for domestic purposes only.
To rectify serious deficiencies in an existing supply of water for domestic purposes.

The scheme does not apply to homes to which a public or group scheme water supply has already been provided or is located in an area about to be served by Irish water or group scheme.

NB: Works carried out before a prior inspection by the local authority do not qualify under the scheme.

Eligibility:

A person is eligible for a grant under the following conditions;

The dwelling is 7 years old or over and not connected to a public water supply (main’s) or small group scheme
The house concerned must be the normal place of residence ( not a holiday home)
Existing supply is insufficient to meet the domestic needs of the household.
Carrying out improvements to a seriously deficient existing piped supply of water to a house.
A water supply grant cannot have been paid in the last 7 years.
long term rental homes can apply but exclude holiday homes, caravans & mobile homes.
A water supply depending on a rainwater tank may be regarded for grant purposes as not being wholesome & clean or supplying insufficient quantity to meet the water demand for domestic purposes of the house.

A person is not eligible for a grant if , in the opinion of the local authority –

The house concerned is not occupied by the applicant as his or her normal place of residence (e.g. a holiday home)
The house concerned is at present connected to a public or group scheme water supply
The area in which the house is located is or is about to be served by a public water supply or a group scheme water supply
The house concerned is under construction or has been constructed within the previous 7 years.
Received a grant relating to their water supply in the last 7 years.
…where the supply of water concerned is a supply other than a public or group scheme supply. ( A group water scheme is a scheme providing a private supply of water by means of a common or shared source of supply and distribution system.).

Qualifying Works:

Works qualify under the scheme where they are undertaken to provide or improve a supply of water for domestic purposes in a house and they consist of one or more of the following:

Drilling a new well, 85% of cost reimbursed, maximum grant of €5000
Rehabilitating an existing well, including deepening or relining an existing bore or the removal of silt, the maximum grant for refurbishment works to a domestic well is €3000 (85% reimbursed)
The construction or improvement of a pump house, piping or other facilities in connection with the supply of water
The provision or improvement of mechanical or electrical equipment or facilities in connection with the supply of water
The provision or improvement of facilities or equipment for the treatment of water
Applicants may be permitted to make a second application in the 7 year period if the maximum grant wasn’t utilized & some significant unforeseen or emergency issue arises after the first application , eg contamination of the water supply, deterioration caused by weather events etc. should a second application be considered by the relevant authority the combination of the first payment & second payment shall not exceed the maximum amount allowed under the grant scheme

Works do not qualify where, in the opinion of the local authority:

They have an approved cost of less than €750
The proposed works exceed what would be required to secure an adequate supply of water for domestic purposes
They relate to the installation or improvement of plumbing inside a house
They relate to the provision or up-grading of a supply of water for non-domestic purposes ie farming related or commercial use.
they are carried out before the local authority’s’ prior inspection takes place.
The Dwelling is connected to a public water supply (main’s) or a shared supply from another source.
Application for water softener is not covered by the scheme but all other filtration shall be covered.

Prior Inspection:

The local authority will carry out a prior inspection to:

Determine eligibility and whether the proposed works qualify
In the case of an application relating to the improvement of an existing supply, determine whether such supply is seriously deficient
Where the applicant is not, at the time of application, able to provide full details of the proposed works (for example, in the case of a new well), the local authority will only confirm whether or not the applicant is eligible for a grant.
The authority will consider whether the relevant works qualify, and determine an approved cost and amount of grant, when full details of such works are provided.
The applicant may provide such details after the works have been completed provided a prior inspection has taken place.

Approved Cost:

The approved cost, the amount on the basis of which the amount of the grant is calculated, is determined by the local authority. It is an estimate of the reasonable cost of qualifying works. The applicant must pay the contractor in full for the works carried out and then forward their claim form with all relevant invoices, receipts & water test results to have the grant payment applied to their account.

level Of Grant:

The level of the grant will be determined by the type of improvement works being undertaken and shall not exceed the following amounts

1 (a) 85% of the approved cost for rehabilitation works ie deepening or relining of existing well, subject to a maximum of €3000
1(b) 85% for the provision of a new well subject to a maximum of €5000
1 (c) 100% for the provision of filtration (excluding lime filtration for hardness of water)subject to a maximum of €1000
An application can be submitted for any of the above or a combination of the above.

Certificate of Provisional Approval:

Where the local authority has:

Carried out a prior inspection to its satisfaction
Determined that the applicant is eligible, the proposed works qualify, and all other terms and conditions of the scheme are complied with
Determined the approved cost and the amount of grant

…it will issue a Certificate of Provisional Approval to applicant.

Carrying out of works:

After receipt of a Certificate of Provisional Approval, the works concerned may commence. The works must be carried out by a contractor registered for VAT who holds a current tax clearance certificate from the Revenue Commissioners.

The applicant is responsible for getting their water tested by independent approved laboratory in sterile containers obtained by the lab. this is advised two/three weeks after drilling of well., the results need to be sent with all invoices and receipts of payment when claiming your grant along with a pumping certificate stating the quantity of water obtained.

Claiming Payment:

On completion of the works, payment of grant may be claimed by the applicant submitting the claim form PWS 1b and returning it together with receipts of payment & pumping test certificate in respect of qualifying works to the local authority. Inspection of the works shall be carried out by the housing authority to establish that the works have been undertaken & completed .Once this is established the grant will be paid.

Where the local authority is of the opinion that the works have not been undertaken in accordance with the application, or have not been satisfactorily completed, the authority may

Determine a revised approved cost
Withhold payment of the grant until the applicant carries out such alterations to the existing works or such additional works as may be notified by the authority.

Where the local authority is of the opinion that the actual cost of the qualifying works is less than the approved cost, a revised approved cost will be determined.

Applications:

An application for a grant under this scheme must be made to a local authority on Form PWS 1a which can be downloaded from the relevant councils website , or requested over the phone, all applications must be accompanied by three quotations. Where the exact nature and extent of the proposed works are known at the time of making an application, a detailed specification and estimate of cost of the proposed works should also be provided.

APPEALS PROCESS

Should an applicant be dissatisfied with the housings authority decision on their application they can send a written appeal via email , the appeal must be submitted within 3 weeks of the date of decision & clearly state the reason for appeal, the appeal will be adjudicated upon within four weeks of receipt & a decision will be notified to the applicant within two weeks .

Introduction of Grants for Group Water Schemes.

This programme is administered by the local authorities and is comprised of a number of measures to address deficiencies in:

group water schemes
group sewerage schemes
Private supplies where no alternative group or public supply is available.

Grants

Group Water Schemes
- Grants of up to 100% of cost of essential treatment & disinfection facilities for schemes participating in bundled Design/Build/Operate (DBO) contracts are available. Other necessary works like buildings, reservoirs, pipelines associated with the contract are grant aided at up to 85% of cost subject to a max of just over 6,475 euro per house
- For general upgrading of treatment and networks etc, grants of up to 85% of cost subject to a max of 6,475 euro per house are available
- For new group schemes, grants of up to 85% of cost, subject to a max of 7,475 euro per house, are available
Group Sewerage Schemes

A grant of up to 6,500 euro per house or 75% of the cost of a scheme whichever is the lesser is available for Group Sewerage Schemes where a number of households provide a shared sewage collection/disposal system.

Subsidies:

An annual subsidy per house is payable towards the cost of providing domestic water to group scheme members:
- up to 40 euro for each house supplied from a public source
- up to 95 euro for each house supplied from a private source (well, lake, borehole etc)
- up to 220 euro for each house where water disinfection and/or treatment is provided under a Design, Build, Operate (DBO) contract.

Application Forms / Explanatory Memoranda

Application Forms and Explanatory Memoranda governing the conditions of these schemes may be obtained by contacting: the Rural Water Programme, Liaison Officer at your local County Council

SUBSIDY TOWARDS THE OPERATIONAL COSTS OF GROUP WATER SCHEMES :

Local authorities are responsible for giving subsidies to group water schemes for domestic use.

The amount of subsidy is 100 % of the qualifying expenditure.

€ 140 for each house supplied from a private well.

before a subsidy is paid, the group must provide its local authority with details of costs incurred.

Links

Carlow CoCo Carlow County Council	countycarlow.ie
Kildare CoCo Kildare County Council	kildare.ie/countycouncil
Laois CoCo Laois County Council	Laois.ie
MICRON FILTRATION water filtration	micronfiltration@iol.ie
T.E LABORATORIES LTD Water Testing	tellab.ie
Wexford CoCo Wexford County Council	wexford.ie
Wicklow CoCo Wicklow County Council	wicklow.ie