Today, the EPA published the Urban Wastewater Treatment Report for 2023. While there have been some improvements there is still a long way to go. Ten large towns and cities, including Dublin are failing to comply with EU wastewater treatment standards, that accounts for more than 40% of all wastewater.
Poorly treated sewage when returned to the natural environment can pollute receiving lakes, rivers and coastal water bodies. In the report, the EPA have identified 73 priority areas where improvements in wastewater is urgently needed to protect the environment. Uisce Éireann have not yet started works on half of these.
The Forum has asked that Uisce Éireann prioritise work to remove urban wastewater as a pressure on the 197 waterbodies identified in the recently published Water Action Plan and to make sure that all rivers, lakes and coastal waterbodies are protected from inadequately treated wastewater. This will require future proofing wastewater treatment infrastructure to ensure wastewater treatment services can address increasing demands from population and industrial growth and climate change impacts.
Dr Matt Crowe Chair of the Water Forum stated ‘it is essential that Uisce Éireann speed up progress on providing this fundamental infrastructure to protect water quality from urban wastewater while also planning to build resilience for future challenges, like increasing population and climate change impacts’.
