Regulator urges faster waste water treatment upgrades by Uisce Éireann

Ireland’s environmental watchdog has criticised the pace at which Uisce Éireann (Irish Water) is delivering waste water treatment infrastructure upgrades.

The criticism surfaced in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA's) latest urban waste water treatment report which covers 2022. It highlighted that over half the country‘s water discharges currently fail to meet Europena Union standards.

The watchdog complained that Uisce Éireann did not have clear plans to prevent pollution at some of the most significantly impacted water bodies.

The regulator accepted that Uisce Éireann has made some progress in stopping discharges of raw sewage over the past year. However, waste water continues to harm the quality of many of Ireland’s rivers, estuaries, lakes and coastal waters.

EPA director, Dr Tom Ryan, said: “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.

“The pace at which Uisce Éireann is delivering improvements needs to accelerate to prevent pollution and protect water quality.”

The report noted that “poor management practices at some upgraded plants had resulted in discharges of inadequately treated sewage”.

Highlighted as priority areas for action were :

• 26 towns and villages that were discharging raw sewage daily in mid-2023;

• 15 large towns and cities where waste water treatment failed to meet EU standards;

• 39 areas where waste water is adversely impacting the quality of rivers, estuaries, lakes and coastal waters. Uisce Éireann is taking too long to design and start delivering the improvements needed at 28 of these areas;

• 12 towns and villages where waste water treatment must improve to protect the endangered freshwater pearl mussel; and

• six large towns and cities where the sewer network must be upgraded to protect the environment.