IT IS quite shocking that 46 per cent of sewage treatment plants serving Ireland’s cities and towns still fail to meet the standards laid down by the EU urban wastewater treatment directive – years after they were all meant to achieve full compliance with its terms.
As the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in its latest report, “this level of performance is poor and needs to improve. In order to meet EU targets further investment in infrastructure is required and we need a step change in the operation and maintenance of these valuable assets.”
The Department of the Environment, which has been exclusively responsible for approving capital investment in water services, suggested that the proposed establishment of a new semi-State company, Irish Water, to take over from the local authorities “will contribute to a significant improvement in operational performance at individual plants and ensure greater consistency.” Yet one of the reasons we have a problem in this area is that there is a backlog of €500 million of water services investment projects awaiting the release of funds, as noted in the recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Many of the sewage treatment plants that fail to meet EU, or even national, standards are located in coastal areas, ranging from Dublin City Council’s plant at Ringsend to the Cork County Council plant serving Ringaskiddy, in Cork Harbour. In other cases, notably in seaside resorts such as Ardmore, Co Waterford; Kilkee and Kilrush, Co Clare, and Bundoran, Co Donegal, there is still no sewage treatment at all; the effluent is simply discharged into the sea on the ebb tide. No wonder then that Ardmore has an official sign on the pier saying “please do not paddle or bathe in the waters of the stream below until further notice”. This is entirely unacceptable, as it betokens a refusal to face fundamental issues involving public health.
No doubt the EPA’s report will add fuel to the fires stoked by the anti-septic tank registration campaign raging in rural Ireland; after all, it highlights a failure to bring all urban wastewater treatment facilities up to standard, despite the considerable investment in this sector over the past decade. But poorly maintained septic tanks represent a threat to the quality of surface waters, particularly in areas with inadequate percolation. It must be the responsibility of individual householders to ensure that their facilities meet the minimum standards, just as it is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure compliance in urban areas.