Sewage scheme ‘not EU compliant’
ENNISCORTHY FALLS FOUL OF EUROPE’S TOP COURT
THE wastewater treatment scheme in Enniscorthy is one of 28 around the country deemed by Europe’s top court to be non-compliant with legislation and Ireland could face serious fines if the problems with it aren’t rectified.
Issues with regard to the schemes were first raised by the European Commission (EC) six years ago and initially involved 52 different schemes.
However, that number was lowered to 28 after the Government said upgrading work was planned, but proceedings initiated by the EC resulted in Thursday’s ruling by the European Court of Justice that the systems are non-compliant.
The court found that Ireland was in breach of an EU directive as a result of not ensuring that sewage was properly dealt with in eight locations where non-compliance was alleged to be occurring – including Enniscorthy.
ENNISCORTHY’S wastewater treatment scheme is one of 28 around the country deemed by Europe’s top court to be non-compliant with legislation and Ireland could face serious fines if the problems aren’t rectified.
Issues with regard to the schemes were first raised by the European Commission (EC) six years ago and initially involved 52 different schemes.
However, that number was lowered to 28 after the Government said upgrading work was planned but proceedings initiated by the EC resulted in Thursday’s ruling by the European Court of Justice that the systems are non-compliant.
The court found that Ireland was in breach of an EU directive as a result of not ensuring that sewage was properly dealt with in eight locations where non-compliance was alleged to be occurring - including Enniscorthy.
The court also dealt with another complaint that alleged no prior authorisation was granted for discharges from wastewater treatment plants in Castlebridge and Arklow.
When contacted about the court proceedings a spokesperson for Irish Water said work is progressing with regard to rectifying the problems.
However, it’s expected that the total cost of making the wastewater schemes compliant, including what has been spent to-date, will be in the region of €1.3bn - which includes €291m spend between 2014 and 2018.
Acknowledging Thursday’s court decision the spokesperson said, in a statement: ‘Irish Water acknowledges [the] judgement from the European Court of Justice against Ireland for non-compliance with the Urban Wastewater Directive. Irish Water will review the contents of the judgement and work with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government to understand the implications while we continue to work to address the issues that have been raised.’
With regard to the situation in Enniscorthy the spokesperson said the work on the wastewater treatment plant, which will bring it into compliance, are due to completed in the second quarter of this year.
‘This project is currently in the detailed design stage and this stage is due to conclude shortly,’ he said.
He outlined the upgrading works taking place and said: ‘The scope of the planned work [includes] removal of the storm water overflow structures, additional collection systems, and additional storage.’
It’s expected the overall works will be finalised by 2023.
The spokesperson said Castlebridge is ‘no longer a stand-alone agglomeration and is now part of the Wexford agglomeration’ and that the overall judgement reflected: ‘Decades of under-investment in wastewater infrastructure in Ireland; the lack of standardised operation and maintenance provided by the industry, and the impact that this has had on communities all around the country.’
Irish Water’s head of asset management, Seán Laffey, said his company has a planned approach which will deliver ‘sustained benefits’ with regard to improved compliance in wastewater treatment.
‘As with drinking water, Irish Water as a single utility can for the first time have an over-arching strategy on wastewater,’ he said.
‘Given the need to prioritise, the immediate investment focus has been on those wastewater projects that will deliver the maximum environmental returns and meet Ireland’s obligations under EU law,’ he added.
‘This approach also helps to facilitate future growth and economic investment and ensures that untreated water does not enter our rivers and seas, boosting tourism and protecting the local environment.’
Irish Water treats around 1,600 million litres of wastewater every day before discharging it back into rivers, harbours and coastal areas.
In its statement the company said it has a plan to ‘address the issues and concerns raised by the European Commission and is ‘already making progress’.
In addition to building new wastewater treatment plants the company said it also has ‘a range of programmes currently under way to improve the current infrastructure with upgraded flow monitoring or sampling equipment’ while in other areas it’s undertaking Drainage Area Plans [as part of] a more intensive approach to identify interventions that will be required to take place going forward.
The company spokesperson said addressing all of the issues will take time: ‘Given the size and scale of the challenge addressing all of the issues will take substantial investment and considerable time.’