Cork and Dublin towns among those with raw sewage entering water
Towns and villages all over Ireland are still flushing their toilets directly into rivers or onto the coastline because of a lack of wastewater treatment facilities.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says 38 towns and villages, home to 88,000 people, are discharging raw sewage into local waterways or the sea.
A further 28 large towns and cities, home to half the country’s population, are discharging inadequately treated sewage that fails to meet mandatory standards.
There are 57 other areas where rivers, lakes, and coastal waters are at risk of pollution due to less than ideal treatment standards.
The situation is better than last year, when 44 towns and villages were discharging raw sewage and 50 large towns and cities were failing to treat discharges adequately, but Tom Ryan, director of the EPA’s office of environmental enforcement, said the improvements are unacceptably slow.
“Ireland is not addressing the deficiencies in its wastewater treatment infrastructure at a fast enough pace,” he said. “This is putting our health at risk and is having an impact on our rivers, lakes and coastal waters.”
The EPA prosecuted Irish Water for nine incidents in which wastewater rules were breached last year, resulting in convictions and fines of €70,000.
However, the agency warned that the country as a whole risks massive fines from the EU over our failures to comply with the Waste Water Treatment Directive which required proper treatment of all wastewater by 2005.
Darragh Page of the EPA’s environmental enforcement team pointed the finger at Irish Water.
A substantial increase in the rate of investment is necessary to provide the infrastructure needed to treat our wastewater,” he said.
“Irish Water also needs to improve its understanding of the condition and performance of sewers, to help focus sewer upgrade works where they are most urgently needed.”
Irish Water admitted progress on some projects is “slower than we would like” but said a comprehensive investment plan is in place.
Irish Water is on track to deliver on our approved investment plans which will result in no areas in the country having any form of untreated wastewater discharge by 2021,” it said.
“Irish Water in conjunction with the local authorities is continuing to roll out standard operating procedures for wastewater treatment plants to ensure that they are operated to the highest standards possible.”
The areas where untreated sewage is being discharged include Castletownbere, Castletownshend, Timoleague, Inchigeelagh, Passage-Monkstown, Ringaskiddy village, Whitegate- Aghada, Ballycotton, and Cobh in Co Cork; Kilkee, Kilrush, Clarecastle, Liscannor, and Ballyvaughan in Co Clare; Glin and Foynes, Co Limerick; four in Co Galway; two in Co Mayo; eight in Co Donegal; two in Co Wicklow; Omeath, Co Louth, and Howth, Co Dublin.
