Communities across County Westmeath and the Midlands region continue to benefit from Irish Water’s progress in improving wastewater treatment, resulting in a cleaner environment, enhanced water quality and greater capacity to support growth and development.
The latest EPA Urban Wastewater Treatment Report for 2021 recognises the ongoing progress being made by Irish Water in upgrading Ireland’s public wastewater infrastructure while also highlighting the need for continued investment in our essential wastewater services.
Since 2014, when Irish Water assumed responsibility for public water services, 60% of raw sewage discharges by volume have been eliminated through targeted investment in new sewerage infrastructure where none existed previously, and we are on target to eliminate nearly all of the remainder by 2025.
Significant investment in wastewater infrastructure in Athlone will lead to significant improvements in water quality, while also supporting housing and economic development in these areas.
Irish Water’s targeted programme of investment in existing wastewater infrastructure is also reaping benefits for communities around the country. The building of new treatment plants and upgrading of existing ones has led to continued improvements in the quality of receiving waters. Compliance rates with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive remain strong at 93% of plants - up from just 81% in 2015.
As a result of this progress, the impact of urban wastewater on catchment waters has continued to reduce. In the first River Basin Management Plan, prior to the establishment of Irish Water, urban wastewater was identified as the second most dominant pressure on receiving waters; this has now reduced to the fourth and we expect that, by 2027, urban wastewater will be down to seventh, which demonstrates our commitment to improve overall water quality in Ireland’s rivers, lakes and seas. This reflects the significant progress being made by Irish Water in upgrading wastewater infrastructure and optimising operations at wastewater treatment plants.
Plans for the delivery of the Athlone Main Drainage Sewer Network Upgrade are at an advanced stage. Irish Water has secured the necessary lands, way leaves and planning permission required for this project. The project has also recently received Cabinet approval.
When completed, this project will reduce the risk of sewer flooding in Athlone and address non-compliant sewer overflows into the River Shannon. It will also improve the capacity of the sewer network allowing for current and future population growth.
“The scale of delivery of this critical infrastructure is unprecedented: last year we invested €367 million in Ireland’s wastewater – the highest ever in a single year – and we are on track to increase that further over the coming years as we strive to deliver best in class wastewater services and infrastructure for Ireland now and in the future,” Paraic Joyce, Regional Asset Operations Lead, added.
