More than 600 breakdowns and mishaps occurred at sewage treatment plants last year, contaminating bathing waters, rivers and lakes and putting public health at risk.
At one point, nine million litres of raw sewage flowed from the Ballybofey-Stranorlar plant in Co Donegal over six days because Uisce Éireann failed to respond promptly to the problem.
The incidents are recorded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which said 55 per cent of Uisce Éireann’s almost 1,100 wastewater treatment plants released sewage into waterways without adequately cleaning it at some point last year.
“These failures ranged from occasional short-duration breaches to frequent or continuous discharges of poorly treated sewage,” it said.
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While equipment breakdowns or overloaded plants were to blame at times, half of the failures were down to “inadequate operation and maintenance”.
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“Many environmental incidents could have been prevented, and environmental risks mitigated, by better management,” the EPA said. “Uisce Éireann must address this without delay.”
The EPA noted Uisce Éireann made improvements to the wastewater network in some places.
Four towns and villages that up to last year had no facilities and were continuously discharging raw sewage into local waterways finally got proper treatment plants.
However, 11 towns and villages without facilities continue to discharge raw sewage and the EPA said the necessary infrastructure was “not being delivered quickly enough or at the scale required”.
The 11 are: Howth, Avoca, Foynes, Glin, Kilkee, Ballyvaughan, Carraroe, Roundstone, Newport, Falcarragh and Moville.
“Furthermore, existing treatment plants are not being properly operated and maintained, undermining the environmental benefits of increased investment in new wastewater infrastructure,” the EPA said.
“Untreated and inadequately treated wastewater can contain harmful bacteria and viruses that can make people sick. It can also pollute and degrade aquatic ecosystems.”
Pat Byrne, EPA director of environmental monitoring, said: “Many of these failures could and should have been prevented and Uisce Éireann must take immediate and effective action to address these failings.”
The EPA has taken 35 successful prosecutions against Uisce Éireann because of incidents related to wastewater discharge, including seven during the past year.
The agency has identified 72 priority areas where action is most urgently needed, including the 13 large towns and cities.
While long-running problem areas such as Arklow were finally resolved last year, progress was “offset by new failures and declining effluent quality at others, such as Clonakilty and Swords”.
Uisce Éireann said it was investing heavily in wastewater, spending €454 million last year. “But we do know there is more to do”, said wastewater compliance manager Niall Horgan.
He said many of the operation issues were linked to the age and condition of plants, which in some areas were “not designed to meet the demands placed on the network today”.
