Raw sewage from 35 towns and villages in Ireland “flows into our environment every day”, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Of these, 33 areas are “unlikely to receive treatment until after 2021”, according to the agency.
Releasing its report on urban water waste treatment in 2019 today (Thursday, November 12), the EPA said that treatment in 19 of Ireland’s 172 large towns and cities “failed to meet standards” set to prevent pollution.
However, this is down from 28 over the past two years.
The report states that Irish Water “has no clear plan to improve treatment at 23 areas where waste water is a significant threat to waters”.
It identifies 113 areas where “priority action is needed to protect public health and the environment”.
Generally, the report finds that there are delays in upgrading treatment systems around the country, which are “prolonging risks to the environment and public health”.
Despite these improvements though, the report says that Irish Water has “repeatedly revised its plans and extended the timeframe to provide treatment for towns and villages including those that are discharging raw sewage”.
Dr. Tom Ryan, the director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement, said: “Two years ago, Irish Water advised it would provide necessary treatment infrastructure by the end of 2021 for 30 of the 35 areas discharging raw sewage.
“It has now revised this down to just two areas, resulting in significant delays in bringing projects to completion. The growing uncertainty in Irish Water’s planning and delivery of these critical projects is undermining confidence in its capacity to reduce the risks to public health and the environment in a timely manner,” Dr. Ryan added.
Plans are only effective if implemented, and the inherent uncertainty of these plans is a serious cause of concern for the EPA. Irish Water must remedy the underlying causes for the delays in delivering this critical infrastructure.
He argued that Irish Water is “failing to treat waste water to national and EU standards and is falling far short of its own targets”.
On the issue of Irish Water, Andy Fanning, the programme manager of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement, commented: “These works must be a priority for Irish Water and will be closely monitored by the EPA.
“There is, however, no clear plan to improve treatment at 23 areas where waste water is a significant threat to waters… Irish Water must clearly identify when and how it will resolve the issues,” Fanning added.