Sewage discharge halved nationally but it's still an issue for Mayo town
THE Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Urban Wastewater Treatment in 2024 report, released today, shows that investment at priority areas highlighted by the EPA is delivering improvements, with the volume of raw sewage discharged daily halving since early 2024.
However, wastewater discharges continue to harm water quality in rivers, estuaries, lakes and coastal waters.
Newport is among the 15 towns and villages that discharge raw sewage daily. This is down from 19 areas at the beginning of 2024 and is expected to decrease to 11 by the end of 2025.
The west Mayo town has actively been campaigning for a new wastewater treatment plant to end the flow of sewage into Clew Bay.
EPA licences set out the treatment standards necessary to prevent pollution and protect the environment. Assessment of wastewater discharges in the report highlights that over half (59 per cent) of licensed treatment plants fail to consistently meet these standards.
Failures range from occasional, short-term breaches to persistent discharges of poorly treated sewage. The main causes are inadequate infrastructure and poor operation and maintenance of treatment plants.
Operation and maintenance issues can and must be resolved as a matter of urgency, says the EPA. Addressing infrastructural deficits is a longer-term challenge that requires substantial and sustained investment. As it will take many years to complete all infrastructural upgrades, Uisce Éireann must give priority to the areas where improvements are most needed and will bring the greatest benefits. The EPA has identified 78 priority areas for improvements. Uisce Éireann has not yet started the works needed at half of these.
Launching the report, Pat Byrne, director of the EPA’s Office of Radiation Protection and Environmental Monitoring, said: “Targeting improvements at priority areas identified by the EPA is delivering environmental benefits. The new treatment plants built to stop discharges of raw sewage from areas such as Arklow and Kilrush are clear examples of this progress. However, delays in designing and delivering infrastructural upgrades required at many more areas are prolonging negative impacts on water quality and the wider environment.
“Uisce Éireann must accelerate the pace of delivery of essential upgrades at priority areas to ensure cleaner rivers, estuaries, lakes and coastal waters and support a healthier environment for all.”
Regarding the operation and maintenance of treatment plants, Noel Byrne, EPA programme manager, said: “Too many wastewater treatment plants are failing to meet licence standards due to poor management and maintenance practices. This is simply not good enough. When treatment plants break down or are not managed properly, our environment pays the price.”
UISCE ÉIREANN REPONSE
Uisce Éireann, in a statement, said it is making major strides in upgrading Ireland’s wastewater infrastructure, with record investment driving environmental protection and supporting sustainable development in communities across Ireland.
The EPA’s Urban Wastewater Treatment Report for 2024 recognises this progress, while also highlighting areas that still need attention. Uisce Éireann is tackling these challenges head-on through a multi-billion-euro capital investment programme - the largest of its kind in the State’s history.
The statement set out: Uisce Éireann acknowledges the EPA’s concerns regarding operational incidents. We recognise that many of these challenges stem from the legacy condition of our assets, which in many cases lack the resilience required of a modern wastewater network. This is primarily due to decades of under-investment and the ageing nature of much of Ireland’s wastewater infrastructure which comprises over 1,000 treatment plants, 2,200 pumping stations, and 26,000km of network.
To address this Uisce Éireann has implemented new organisational structures designed to strengthen operational oversight, improve incident response, and enhance long-term resilience. These changes ensure that we are better equipped to manage risks, respond to incidents, and deliver the high standards of service and environmental protection expected by the public and our regulators.
While issues can and do arise, Uisce Éireann acts quickly to fix them and prevent future problems. And in cases where bigger upgrades are needed, the investment is being made to build new plants or upgrade existing ones.
In 2024 alone, Uisce Éireann invested over €481.4 million in wastewater infrastructure. This is an increase of almost €150m per year since 2020 and brings the total investment since then to over €2 billion. This substantial investment reflects the utility’s commitment to environmental compliance and public health.
Key projects include the commissioning of new wastewater treatment plants and upgrades to existing facilities. In the past year, major works have been completed at Ringsend and Arklow, with large-scale projects in Athlone and Enfield due to be completed by the end of this year. These upgrades are vital to protect public health, safeguard the environment, and facilitate social and economic growth.
In 2024, 92% of Ireland’s treatment plants were fully compliant with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. For those plants not currently achieving compliance, Uisce Éireann has a plan of action to address deficiencies and bring them up to the appropriate standard as quickly as possible.
This includes Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant which is the largest treatment plant in Ireland, dealing with 40% of the entire country’s wastewater load. An investment of €550m is ongoing to deliver, on a phased basis, the capacity to treat the wastewater for a population equivalent of 2.4 million while achieving the standards of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.
The utility is also making big strides in ending raw sewage discharges and improving compliance rates. Since 2014, new wastewater infrastructure has been built for 35 towns and villages across the country, ending the discharge of raw sewage into the environment. Over 85% of these raw sewage discharges have now been eliminated, equivalent to 128,000 people. This includes in Arklow Co Wicklow where a new wastewater treatment plant in the town was completed earlier this year, ending the decades-long practice of raw sewage discharge, and opening up potential for significant housing and development in the town in the years to come. However, some key projects in other areas have been stalled due to planning and legal challenges; for example Kilkee, Co. Clare, where a much needed new sewerage scheme is currently subject to Judicial Review proceedings.
Overall the impact of urban wastewater on receiving waters has continued to reduce. Initially identified as the largest pressure, urban wastewater is now the fourth most significant pressure and its impact is continuing to reduce due to the improvements being made by Uisce Éireann.
Maria O'Dwyer, Uisce Éireann's Director of Infrastructure Delivery, said some of the issues highlighted in the EPA report underlined the scale of the work that still needs to be done to bring our wastewater network to the standard everyone would like to see.
“We are getting there but it will take many years and continued investment, as well as support from Government, our regulators, communities and our customers, to reach the standards we want to achieve,” she said.
“We know what needs to be done and have an ambitious plan in place to achieve it. Securing the necessary statutory consents for our projects has been a significant challenge, and we have encountered legal obstacles in several locations. For example the Greater Dublin Drainage Project, which is critical to meeting the rapidly growing wastewater needs of the Greater Dublin Area, has been stuck in the planning system for more than seven years and is currently subject to Judicial Review proceedings which risk delaying it further. Sustainable development cannot happen without appropriate water services infrastructure, and it is imperative that Uisce Éireann is given appropriate consideration in legislation at the plan, policy, and project levels to enable delivery of these essential projects.
“Like everyone else we would like to see faster progress in the delivery of essential wastewater infrastructure, but we remain committed to working closely with the Government and all relevant agencies to expedite these processes. Our goal is to ensure the timely delivery of projects that protect public health, enhance the environment and support sustainable development."