Waste water continues to harm the quality of many of Ireland’s rivers, estuaries, lakes and coastal waters, a report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says.
Over half of Ireland’s waste water discharges are not meeting EU standards set to protect the environment, it says.
Uisce Éireann “still does not have clear plans to prevent pollution at some of the most significantly impacted water bodies”, and “it is vital these are resolved through its new investment plan”, the EPA says.
It says that Uisce Éireann has committed to eliminating raw sewage discharges by 2025 from the majority of the 26 towns and villages which have no treatment.
Treatment plants must be operated and maintained properly to prevent impacts on the environment, it says.
The EPA report, entitled Urban Waste Water Treatment in 2022 and published today, shows that Uisce Éireann has made progress in stopping discharges of raw sewage over the past year, with the connection of six villages to new treatment plants in 2022.
“While it is encouraging to see continued progress in stopping the unacceptable practice of discharging raw sewage into our environment, waste water remains a significant pressure on Ireland’s water ways and is adversely impacting water quality,” EPA director Dr Tom Ryan says.
“The pace at which Uisce Éireann is delivering improvements needs to accelerate to prevent pollution and protect water quality,” he says.
“Uisce Éireann must take the opportunity of its new investment plan for 2025 to 2029 to deliver waste water infrastructure that meets the needs of our society and protects and improves our environment into the future,” he says.
“ The investment plan must prioritise resources to prevent pollution in the priority areas highlighted by the EPA,” he says.
The EPA says that 30 years after Ireland was required to bring provisions into force to comply with EU treatment standards set to protect the environment, less than half (45 per cent) of waste water is treated to these standards.
It says this is expected to improve significantly to over 90 per cent when the upgrade of Ireland’s largest treatment plant at Ringsend in Dublin is complete.
Noel Byrne, EPA Programme Manager, welcomed the fact that Uisce Éireann is currently building infrastructure at large urban areas, including Ringsend and Arklow, which are designed to treat waste water to a high standard.
“However, poor management practices at upgraded plants, such as Skibbereen and Courtmacsherry, caused inadequately treated sewage to discharge into the environment. This is not acceptable as these plants have sufficient treatment capacity,” he said.
“Uisce Éireann must implement effective maintenance programmes for existing infrastructure and improve its operation and management of treatment plants to prevent such failures in future,” he said.
The report is available on the EPA website.
