EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 Topic Box 14.3 Water Services, Extreme Weather and Climate Change There is a need to improve the resilience of drinking water services. During 2018, Ireland experienced extreme weather events that affected public water supplies and the delivery of water to consumers. In March, Storm Emma resulted in large amounts of snow and extremely cold weather. Schools, offices, shops and most public services were closed for several days, and people had difficulty leaving their homes to travel even short distances. Many water treatment plants were inaccessible and Irish Water could not respond to operational alarms and issues when they occurred. This particularly affected smaller supplies and, for example, nine supplies in Waterford were put on boil water notices as a precaution. Many people were also affected by water restrictions or had no water at all (Figure 14.3). Figure 14.3  Storm Emma – Timeline and population affected by water restrictions (Source: Irish Water) 02/03/2018 03/03/2018 04/03/2018 05/03/2018 Storm Emma – Timeline of population affected 06/03/2018 07/03/2018 08/03/2018 Population Affected 0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 No Water Restricted Supply At Risk The summer of 2018 posed other challenges for drinking water supplies. High temperatures and no rainfall in June and July meant that Ireland experienced drought conditions. This, coupled with increased demand for water during that time, resulted in Irish Water introducing the first ever National Water Conservation Order nationwide hosepipe ban in July. The order remained in place until September 2018. Water demand and supply levels were monitored daily by Irish Water to ensure that water remained available for consumers, farmers, businesses and other services. The challenges posed by these climate extremes in 2018 demonstrate the need to have resilient water supplies that can cope with short-term events such as snow, or longer term events such as a summer drought. Drinking water safety plans play an essential role, as they identify what could go wrong in advance, so that action can be taken to reduce the risk of problems arising or to lessen the impact if something does go wrong. Urban Wastewater Improvements are needed in urban wastewater collection and treatment to maintain water quality and thereby protect public health. Raw sewage from 35 towns and villages (the equivalent of 78,000 people) is currently being released into the environment every day. Over one billion litres of wastewater are collected every day and treated at 1100 treatment plants before being discharged into the environment (EPA, 2020b). There are deficiencies in many public sewers and wastewater treatment plants thanks to a legacy of underinvestment. As a result, wastewater is one of the main threats to the quality of Ireland’s rivers, lakes and estuaries, but it also poses a potential threat to public health. Public exposure to discharges, which can contain pathogens and pollutants such as microplastics, detergents and personal care products, may occur if those discharges are near bathing or recreational waters. In October 2020, raw sewage from 35 towns and villages (the equivalent of 78,000 people) was still being released into the environment every day from urban areas as well as 360