Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
RAW SEWAGE FROM 77,000 people is being released into the environment every day from mainly coastal areas around the country, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report has found.
Half of this sewage comes from Arklow in Wicklow, Cobh in Cork and Kilmore Quay in Wexford, the EPA report on Urban Waste Water Treatment in 2018 published today found. 36 towns and villages around the country release raw sewage daily.
According to the EPA, 21 cities and towns – including Dublin and Cork – had waste water treatment plants that didn’t meet mandatory European Union (EU) standards, a reduction from 28 in 2017.
The EPA is the environmental agency responsible for regulating Irish Water. Sewage is one of the main threats to water quality in Ireland, according to the authors of this report.
The director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement, Tom Ryan, said that inadequately treated waste water could pollute the environment and pose a risk to people’s health.
“We are seeing repeated delays in providing treatment for many areas and it is not acceptable that 12 towns and villages will still have no waste water treatment by the end of 2021,” said Ryan, commenting on the report.
“Irish Water must speed up its delivery of key infrastructure.”
Changes required
Necessary improvements to fix the issues outlined in the report include getting rid of raw sewage flows, preventing water pollution and better meeting EU standards across the country.
Some waste water treatment plants need to be upgraded and there must be continued improvements to treatment systems currently in use, the report said.
Over a billion litres of waste water are collected every day in Ireland’s public sewers and treated at 1,100 treatment plants.
The main factor in urban problems with waste water treatment is the failure to properly treat it in Dublin and Cork.
Untreated or poorly treated waste water can be contaminated with harmful bacteria and viruses and can pose a health risk to people.
Programme Manager of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement Andy Fanning said Irish Water needs to “continue to improve” its operation and maintenance of waste water treatment systems.
Irish Water delays
The report said that Irish Water is “repeatedly extending” the completion dates for works in the areas releasing raw sewage into the environment.
At the end of last year, Irish Water had completed just over half of the nearly 800 improvements to sewage treatment that should have been finished between 2009 and 2018.
In 2016, Irish Water said it would stop discharging waste from 30 out of 36 areas by the end of 2020, but the latest report said it is currently on target to treat just two of these areas by this date.
Cobh in Cork, Arklow in Wicklow and two other locations weren’t connected to treatment plants in 2018 so raw sewage from these areas flowed into the environment throughout the year.
Responding to the report, Irish Water said its investment in waste water infrastructure will increase to nearly €400 million in 2020. This brings it in line with the level of investment in drinking water.
“As the recent incidents at the Leixlip Water Treatment Plant have shown, it is vital that we continue to upgrade and maintain drinking water infrastructure as well as putting emphasis on ensuring that Ireland’s wastewater reaches the same high standard of compliance,” said head of asset management at Irish Water Sean Laffey.
The EPA report said problems have arisen in many plants because they were built to cater to smaller populations.
The Ringsend treatment plant opened in 2003 to deal with waste water from 1.64 million. However, it now serves around 1.9 million people and this can increase to 2.3 million at times.
Construction work which began last year on the plant to provide additional capacity is due to be finished next year, while further expansions will go on until 2025.
The plant isn’t expected to meet required EU standards until the end of 2022 at the earliest.
“Completing this project without delay is essential to protect the Lower Liffey Estuary and Dublin Bay,” the report said.
Ireland requires substantial and sustained investment to build the infrastructure necessary to treat our waste water properly and release it safely back into the environment.
Waste water at beaches in Dublin at Merrion Strand and Sandymount Strand, and in Galway at Clifden beach contributed to poor quality bathing water, the report said.
Last year, three serious incidents in rivers in Cavan, Tullamore and Dublin resulted in fish being killed after raw sewage escaped from the collection system and flowed into rivers.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Great speech by An Taoiseach, in front of the world. Well written and well delivered. He has done Ireland proud.
@Alan Brogan: yes he has done a certain type of person proud. But not the many.
@Alan Brogan: but that’s exactly what it was a speech, nothing more nothing less, I’m sure President Trump is quite aware of the goings on on this little island of ours and how Enda is coming to the end of the road and not very popular at home at all, that’s how it seemed to me, a man of very little significance to him who jumped on the band wagon with the “racist” word, Trump doesn’t forget, he likes Ireland and has vested interests here and regardless of an invitation from Kenny or anyone else I’m sure we’ll be seeing him during his term…..
Well knock me down with a feather. Has Enda Kenny actually done something useful?
Enda Kenny is a national embarassment
I thought it was a good speech…
@Sifletch: It certainly was. Diplomatically it was a great speech. You dont go to the white house and condemn the man child in front of the worlds press. You remind him as kenny did that America has been seen for generations as a place of refuge. You remind him that millions have gone and made new lives there. You remind him of its awesome responsibility as a world power. For all those criticising Kenny, this is the best way to pressure Trump. Anyone expecting him to show up and start grandstanding about racism etc doesn’t understand much. He was right when he called Trump out here. He would have been wrong to start it in the white house. Kenny has left it late but he did us proud today.
Enda the snake. Not my Taoiseach.
@Ian Walsh: afraid he is. Whether you like it or not. That’s democracy
@Ian Walsh: I met a man with two bowls of shamrock who was going to give them to the troops guarding the A T M s !!!!!!!!!
Fair play to Kenny. Did a very good job when a lot of naysayers said he wouldn’t.
Anyone else notice how even though he was addressing Trump in his speech he never actually looked at him?!?, almost as if he wasn’t even in the room, awkward at best, Trump’s body language says it all…..
@Kate Flaherty: Yes did not once even glance at Trump….I suppose Enda really misses Obama…All of Enda’ s media advisers would also really dislike Trump so Enda is scared of offending the Irish media by being too friendly…..Still it was a good speech some good lines in it…
Plonker
With a little practice, it’s very easy to make a speech that’s been written for you.
When Ends goes off script, we see him for what he is: a little man who is way out of his depth.
What about the “wretched refuse” being held in our Direct Provision Centres? Where’s the compassion for them? Have they not been deprived of liberty, opportunity and safety in their own countries? The hypocrisy around this issue insults us all.
@Cormac Behan: red thumb…..
@Cormac Behan: It was nothing to do about people here in direct provision centres, it is Kenny showing his ignorance by addressing Illegal Irish migrants who are illegally in The US which in turn us open to be scammed by others who don’t respect the laws of countries they want to take advantage of them.
Compassion for people who have lied through their teeth in order to stay here? They’ve been refused and have no right to be here .
@Suzie Sunshine: great show of compassion!
@Jho Harris: clearly the irony was lost on you!
@Charles Alexander: I have no compassion for scammers, sorry .
@Suzie Sunshine: in fairness, there were plenty of scammers in the country long before we ‘opened’ our doors to asylum seekers.
@Charles Alexander: correct but unfortunately we can’t deport our own ..
@Charles Alexandesee Most of us know about the home grown scammers but why allow more in to rip us off. What the hell did you mean me not getting irony? Do you see something amusing in having a stupid Taoiseach, I certainly don’t find it endearing to see Kenny looking to make a case for illegal Irish in The US while we are by design stopped for getting rid of those who are illegal here, a cohort that are most made welcome here by The Immigrant Council here.
@Jho Harris: the irony is that he wants Trump to deal with the issue concerning the undocumented Irish yet he avoids the issue concerning the undocumented in his own country.
Did that really need explaining?
While I’m not a huge fan of Enda, I think this was his finest hour. Delighted he had the balls to do this.
Whoever wrote Endas speech done a great job lol :-)
The long good bye?
@Gerry Fitz: gonna miss him that’s for sure ,rescued the country, but like that other great man churchill not really appreciated at home
His and our own record on migration is pitiful. The hypocrisy of this speech is galling. Direct Provisioning and one of the lowest rates of refugee admissions in europe is preposterous given our own history.
@Peter McGlynn: i agree more muslims is what we need,now that the catholic church is finished here.we need a real dominant religion and islam seems a good fit for ireland
Yeah, Scarlet, cause they have been doing in every other country. Good trolling.
@Dave Murray: not really good trolling .. too obvious!
Excellent well written speech enda, hope you stay on for another 5 year
@Patricia Butler: So you want the EU to continue with an unelected government of green communists? Is that it?
Poor Ends must be peeved at the lack of coverage his visit garnered internationally, indeed it would seem Brian Dobbs was the only person covering this absurd trip, poor Brian couldn’t even get a recognisable guest to interview in what must have been an expensive excursion to Washington.God all mighty when this nonsense going to end. Just watching Merkels visit and my word the international press are in a frenzy. Good riddens enda, good riddance to mediocrity.
Very nicely done! Enda Kenny for Taoiseach!! Oh wait…
An impassioned speech it was but will it actually have any affect at all with the Irish illegals? Will Trump even give a crap what Kenny said?
@Cormac Behan: Very well put!
Ireland always speaks on a professional level…
Does he keep saying Predident..? Like with a d instead of an s?
Has Enda seen the amount of poor wretches sleeping on our streets right now? Instead of moaning to Trump he should be back here fixing the mess our inept governments have made of the country.
I thought he pressed the case for Irish illegals in a balances way. I did not see it as a lecture, but a plea and I think Trump understood.
Where he did lecture in a disgusting way was on the glories of the EU. A decrepit politically entity which is undemocratic has no place in a lecture to an elected president of the free world.
what “lecture”?
have your say