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WASTE WATER FROM 57 areas across Ireland caused significant impacts on our rivers, lakes and coastal waters last year, according to a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In its report on Urban Waste Water Treatment in 2017, it finds that Ireland is not investing quickly enough in infrastructure that is needed to treat our waste water.
While discharges of raw sewage from six urban areas have ceased, raw sewage from the equivalent of 88,000 people in 38 towns and villages is still flowing into the environment today.
Furthermore, waste water treatment at 28 of Ireland’s 179 large towns and cities failed to meet standards set to prevent pollution and protect public health.
In the case of these 28 towns and cities, the EPA said it accounts for over half of the sewage collected in our public sewers.
EPA’s director of the office of environmental enforcement Dr Tom Ryan said: “It is unacceptable that, 13 years after the final deadline to comply with treatment standards, there are still 28 large towns and cities discharging inadequately treated sewage that fails to meet these standards.
This is putting our health at risk and is having an impact on our rivers, lakes and coastal waters.
The EPA noted that it is “not possible” to fix all the issues with Ireland’s waste water treatment systems in the short-term and a long-term strategy is required to address the shortcomings.
Works are also required to protect 4 beaches with poor quality bathing water at Merrion Strand, Clifden, Loughshinny and Sandymount Strand.
Irish Water is also criticised by the EPA’s Darragh Page who said the company needs to “improve its understanding of the condition and performance of sewers, to help focus sewer upgrade works where they are most urgently needed”.
Plans are afoot for Irish Water to develop a new waste water treatment facility in Clonshaugh to serve the population of north Dublin and parts of Kildare and Meath.
A site in Clonshaugh was identified as the preferred solution, as it was the “most environmentally, socially and technically advantageous solution while also being the most cost-effective option,” according to Irish Water.
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In Sweden they use their sewage waste to manufacture BioFuel and this then had the benefit of curbing their c02 emissions. Our c02 emissioms have breached EU guidlines and it’s going to cost us 600 million € in fines.
@Dermot Lane: No shit
@Dermot Lane: They could alternatively print out the comments on this website and use that as a biofuel instead
@Dermot Lane: it’s easier for Ireland to pay the €600 million than to have the ba11s to use a little foresight and intelligence. How much money has been wasted over the past 15yrs. Probably could have paid for every street to have an individual treatment system
@Dermot Lane: Pete’s briquettes.
@Dermot Lane: Irish waste water treatment plants also produce bio gas from the waste and some are virtually self sufficient as the bio gas is then used to process your waste
@Tweety McTweeter: brilliant
@Tweety McTweeter: hahaha
@Thomas Meaney: They did have the foresight and intelligence, and there was a plan to deal with it, but, if you remember, ‘the people’ went out and protested against it so it was scrapped
Going on for years governments turned a blind eye to it
Warning
Remove bicycle clips before commenting.
@Thomas Linehan: Going on for years the public knew but turned a blind eye to it also.
@Shaun Hogan: what are the public meant to do shovel it back up the pipe taxes are paid the government should have dealt with this
@stephen lawless: Own your own shit! Take responsibility for it yourself. If you refuse to pay for pollution you cause that’s not the government’s fault: it’s yours!
Been happening for decades in most parts
Was Irish Water not trying to use Waste water as drinking water? It shows their disdain for the Irish children and adults. Im sure they had a legal case ongoing recently. As soon as they go, the better!
@Whoswho: Reference? Any Evidence?…………………………….didn’t think so.
@Stephen Devlin: Funny thing is that they needed a report to tell us this ( I wonder how much that cost )
@sean o’dhubhghaill: https://www.water.ie/wastewater/treatment/
There you go Seán !
@David Carino:
All that shows is how wastewater is treated – junior cert stuff!
@David Carino: that’s just an explanation of how water is treated did you read it? It is entirely possible to make drinking water out of waste water London does it and many other places around the globe!
Thank you Paul Murphy & PBP. Your gift keeps on giving.
@Chemical Brothers: and to FF for carrying out their wishes
@Chemical Brothers: We are paying for waste. and look at the state of all the dumping going on.
Maybe the State could set up a body that we’d all pay an annual fee to. That way the funding for our water and sewage works would be ringfenced and invested in them only. Then these vital works wouldn’t be fighting with other projects locally for investment. Clean rivers for us and our wildlife and top quality drinking water, I think we could all get behind that.
@Ronan McKeon: Agreed if the Government hadn’t made a complete bollix of it the first time
@Ronan McKeon: Problem with that is the state want to sell it off to the lowest bidder with no advantage to the state.
This has been happening for decades and a state body won’t fix it.
Plus they cant ringfence taxes
@Stephen Devlin:
He’s not talking about taxes, he’s talking about fees.
@Ronan McKeon: make sure it has built in bonus and 85 Million for a billing system. The Irish are turkeys who can’t wait for Christmas
Listening to morning Ireland just now on how we the taxpayer fund RTE, they are the cover-up and spokes-radio for the government. The presidential race was being discussed. “Lets talk about Micheal D first. The rest apart from 10 seconds re Joan Freeman didn’t get a look in. It’s the same regarding the environment and how it overlooked all the time and RTE goes along with it. The people have a choice on Friday to go to ballot box and make their choice for themselves which could be a backlash for GOVERNMENT and RTE. Its time to cut the party line as we live in a democratic society when it comes to the ballot box.
@C_O’S: The people had a choice: we could have clean water or we could have free water. The water protesters decided for us that we’d have free water and we’d put up with having to navigate the odd turd when swimming in the sea. We’ll get our chance to thank Paul Murphy, Ruth Coppinger and the rest of the water protest leaders when the next election comes round.
@Will J. Browne: we dont have free water we pay for it through general taxation. How do you not know this?
@Frankie Mangan: I know that’s a logical fallacy. How can you be so stupid you think that argument makes sense? Admission to the National Art Gallery is free. It costs money to run so the govt pays the cost instead of charging visitors. Does that mean admission to the National Art Gallery is not free? Or would that be a logical fallacy?
Forgive me if I don’t trust Irish Water to pump sewerage (plus giving it an extra push on the beach) through Portmarnock’s blue flag beach and incredible natural amenity and dumping it off Ireland’s Eye without incident. Cost effective it might be, environmentally sound it isn’t.
Water charges should never have been dropped. Then Irish Water would have had more money to build new treatment plants
@Peter Byrne: ‘Water charges’ would only have paid for the install of the metering and the Audi’s, the Laughing Yoga Sessions, the Golden Parachute Perks etc. etc.
This is a stated fact.
Fix the leaks – (Ultrasonic Leak Detection Equipment) – stop the sell off to private ‘concerns’
@Peter Byrne: Irish Water was never set up with the intention of managing our water infrastructure. It is a fake billing company, simple as. But you know that already. It’s just that the phuckwits in FG made a complete bolloox out of this particuar bit of corruption.
Well done the anti water charges people. Hope it flows into your water system
Are county councils given guidelines on how to manage waste water treatment and funded so they can?
If not don’t dare make this a taxation issue for the public when it is clearly not being managed by those tasked with doing so.
@Free Thinker ❌: Irish Water are responsible now, but we refused to give them the money, so don’t worry: it’s not costing you anything. That’s what’s important.
Just to note, all these areas are near the sea. What’s going on is a literal drop in the ocean. If it was discharged to a river it would be a different storey.
In Dublin, a new (maybe 60 million euro) plant was built to treat sewage just north of Bray. It replaced a large pump that had previously just discharged in 2 miles out to sea.
There were 2 blue flag beaches adjacent.
After it was built, one of the beaches lost its blue flag
Dilution is a solution
@Fiasco99:
Raw turds washing up on a swimming beach is not a solution.
I thought the water protesters made it clear that we Irish are a dirty and smelly people and we don’t care if there are a few turds in the water as long as it’s free. We’re not going to pay Irish Water anything to clean it up. It’s our water. Why are the EU still bothering us about this?
@Will J. Browne: We have lost our independence and belong to the EU now – when they say jump – we ask how high?
@Toby Thedogk: That’s what you took from that?
What if we all pay Irish Water a small fortune and maybe this scaremongering might stop. These people are highly paid and have sat on their fat holes for decades and now with the whiff of built in 9% bonuses they suddenly have our concerns at heart.
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