Over a fifth of tanks inspected last year were found to be a risk to human health or the environment.
Local authorities should be working with home-owners to ensure their sewage systems are up to the required standard.
That's the recommendation from the EPA, with over a fifth of septic tanks inspected last year found to be a risk to human health or the environment.
Noel Byrne, Programme Manager in the EPA's Office of Environment Enforcement, says, in the midlands, the inspection failure rate varies from 11 per cent in Westmeath to 63 per cent in Offaly.
He says this is a known problem that needs to be dealt with:
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