More than half of all wastewater treatment plants in the State are occasionally or frequently letting untreated or inadequately treated sewage flow into rivers and on to beaches, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The situation is “simply not good enough”, the agency said as it threatened to prosecute Uisce Éireann if it is not urgently addressed.
An EPA report found that 59 per cent of treatment plants raised concerns, with pollution posing risks to public health and the environment.
The agency identified 78 towns, villages and cities that must be prioritised for upgrades and improvements. They include 15 towns and villages where raw sewage is still discharged daily. Also flagged are struggling facilities such as Dublin’s Ringsend plant.
RM Block
The 15 towns and villages discharging raw sewage were: Ballyvaughan and Kilkee, Co Clare; Ballycotton and Whitegate, Co Cork; Falcarragh, Moville, Ramelton and Rathmullan, Co Donegal; Howth (Doldrum Bay), Co Dublin; Carraroe and Roundstone, Co Galway; Foynes and Glin, Co Limerick; Newport, Co Mayo; and Avoca, Co Wicklow.
“The main causes [of failures] are inadequate infrastructure and poor operation and management of treatment plants,” the EPA said.
“Operation and maintenance issues can and must be resolved as a matter of urgency.”
Uisce Éireann has only begun work in half of the 78 priority areas, the report found.
EPA programme manager Noel Byrne said the delays in addressing the problems are unacceptable.
“Too many wastewater treatment plants are failing to meet licence standards due to poor management and maintenance practices. This is simply not good enough,” he said.
“When treatment plants break down or are not managed properly, our environment pays the price.”
He said the EPA has prosecuted Uisce Éireann 28 times for failing to treat wastewater properly.
Uisce Éireann said it is making “major strides” in upgrading infrastructure and is committed to addressing the issues raised in the report.
It said failures at plants were generally due to the state of the facilities Uisce Éireann inherited when it was established in 2014.
“This is primarily due to decades of under-investment and the ageing nature of much of Ireland’s wastewater infrastructure, which comprises over 1,000 treatment plants, 2,200 pumping stations and 26,000km of network.”
It said work to modernise the network is ongoing, with more than €480 million spent on it last year.
It has built plants for 35 towns and villages where raw sewage had been discharged, and it is upgrading Ringsend, which must cope with the demands of 2.4 million people.
The company highlighted difficulties in delivering new infrastructure, such as the Greater Dublin Drainage Project, which is needed to handle Dublin’s growth but has been held up in the planning system and by court challenges.
“It will take many years and continued investment, as well as support from Government, our regulators, communities and our customers to reach the standards we want to achieve,” said Maria O’Dwyer, director of infrastructure delivery at Úisce Éireann.
