The Government “needs to step up” and stop raw sewage spewing into rivers, lakes and the sea from 32 towns and villages without wastewater plants.
Sinead O’Brien from the Sustainable Water Network says while Irish Water has been criticised for the pace at which it is dealing with the problem, “responsibility lies at the door of the Department for Housing”.
Her comments follow the latest Environmental Protection Agency report on Urban Wastewater treatment.
Read more: Irish Water has no action plan as half of our water not treated to EU standards
It found over half the country’s sewage is still not being treated to EU standards with discharges still impacting rivers, lakes and coastal waters in 38 areas.
And that Irish Water has no clear action plan or time frame to improve treatment at 27 of the sites.
Ms O’Brien told us: “We are calling for urgent action at this stage.
She believes “three olympic swimming pools of raw sewage” enter our waterways every day posing a risk to people and wildlife.
“The basic requirement to not discharge raw human waste into our water comes from an EU law which is more than 30 years old. The requirement to stop this is 16-years-old. We are 16 years on and if you look over the last couple of years, it’s just coming down one or two at a time [in relation to problem areas where work has been carried out].
“It’s far, far too slow,” she added. “Untreated sewage has viruses, bacteria, other pathogens so it’s a direct threat to public health. There’s more people swimming all year round, there’s more people kayaking, doing stand-up paddle boarding and if they are in water at all they are at risk of getting sick from this.
“Also, a lot of discharges are also going back into drinking water.. then you are relying on technology and treatments plants to get all of that out. As we saw last year, all you need is a malfunction at a wastewater treatment plant, then we’ve got these pollutants.
“We have a plan to end these discharges [at 19 sites] by 2024. Two years on there will still be discharges from 13 places. It’s not good enough.”
Sinead says the Department of Housing’s impending plan for water “is their opportunity to step up”.
Environment watchdog EPA found Ireland’s largest treatment plant at Ringsend, Dublin is overloaded and fails to consistently treat sewage to the required standards.
Some 32 towns and villages were discharging raw sewage every day in mid-2022 while 12 large towns and cities did not treat sewage to the required standard.
Six large towns and cities also have sewers that must be upgraded to address a judgement from the EU Court of Justice and ensure waste water is retained within sewers and conveyed for treatment.
Ireland was also found to be well below the average EU standard of 90% compliance.
The EPA says Irish Water must provide for all improvements needed in its next investment plan for 2025-2029.
EPA Programme Manager Noel Byrne added: “Sixteen years after the final deadline to comply, half of Ireland’s sewage is still not treated to the standards set to protect the environment.
“It is particularly concerning to see some towns such as Ballymote in Sligo failing in 2021, despite having the necessary treatment infrastructure and meeting the standards in 2020.
“This highlights the need for improved vigilance and oversight by Irish Water to make sure treatment infrastructure is always operated at its optimum.”
Irish Water says it spent €367m on wastewater infrastructure in 2021 and 60% of raw sewage discharges have been eliminated.
Its infrastructure delivery director, Brian Sheehan, added: “We have seen the impact of improvements in areas such as Shannon, Co Clare and Cork City where we completed upgrades in 2021.
“Irish Water is committed to protecting and enhancing our natural environment by ensuring the highest standards are applied to wastewater treatment throughout Ireland. We have prioritised key programmes such as the elimination of raw sewage and upgrading of existing infrastructure.”
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