Environment
The report this week from the EPA into urban wastewater treatment has "made for very grim reading", the ICMSA has said.
59% of Ireland's urban water treatment plants failed to consistently meet standards set out in in their licences for water discharge.
Rural Life
Under the Multi-annual Rural Water Programme 2024 - 2026, funding of €73.9 million has been allocated for 291 projects across the country.
North Cork Creameries has confirmed a "discharge of treated wastewater" from a waste water treatment facility.
An appeal has been made to the European Commission to "act" on untreated sewage in Ireland by the Independent MEP Michael McNamara.
The wastewater treatment plant in Bennettsbridge will not be completed until "post 2029", according to local councillor, Deirdre Cullen.
Agri Politics
The IFA has called on a new Cabinet committee to ensure that all sectors play their part on when it comes to water quality.
The National Water Forum has published a series of actions which it believes should be included in the next Programme for Government.
An Taisce has called for a "step change" in the water quality measures being asked of Irish farmers to address the issue of nitrogen (N).
Grants worth a total value of €266,536 for 36 separate domestic wastewater treatment systems have been paid out this year
A report by the EPA that found serious issues in the treatment of waste water represents "jaw-dropping hypocrisy", according to the ICMSA.
Dairy News
Uisce Éireann has issued an appeal to the dairy industry to not dispose large quantities of milk into the wastewater network.
Ireland has yet to make a final decision whether to allow wastewater reuse for irrigation as the EU introduced a new regulation on the matter.
Wastewater sludge has "untapped renewable potential" according to a the EU Commission's proposals on wastewater management.
The EU Commission has today published guidelines to help member states reuse treated urban wastewater for agricultural irrigation.
More than half of systems inspected last year failed due to operational issues and structural defects, according to the EPA.
A new funding scheme, worth €50m, targeting the waste-water collection and treatment needs of rural villages has been launched
Irish Water and Clean Coasts are partnering with some of Ireland’s celebrated chefs to ask people to ‘rethink the sink’.
A Green Party TD has said that there is a "new estate in Dublin" where the wastewater is being stored in "an industrial-scale tank and being removed by a slurry tanker on at least a weekly basis".
A national surveillance programme commences this month to measure the level of Covid-19 in wastewater in 68 catchment areas
Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill is calling on Irish Water to "pull up socks and start taking the treatment of wastewater seriously".
The Dáil heard this week that the country's "dilapidated water infrastructure" must be addressed to deal with waste water treatment.
Dairy
Experts joined forces at a recent DairyWater workshop looking at how waste water is dealt with in the dairy industry.
