Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

459 Chapter 16: Environmental Policy Implementation and Performance POLICY AREA CURRENT ASSESSMENT OUTLOOK NOTES WATER Urban waste water treatment About 50% of Ireland’s urban waste water is still not collected or treated in compliance with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (compared with the EU average of 82%). Some 19 agglomerations had no treatment at the end of 2023 (down from 29 agglomerations the previous year); Uisce Éireann expects to have treatment in place for all these areas by 2030. While progress is being made, sustained investment in water services infrastructure is needed to achieve full compliance with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive and EPA waste water discharge authorisations (EPA, 2023e). Bathing water quality Nationally, bathing water quality has continued to improve, with 97% of beaches (144) meeting or exceeding the minimum required standard of ‘sufficient’ (EPA 2024d). However, Ireland’s share of bathing waters at ‘excellent’ quality (77%) remains below the EU average (85%) (EEA, 2024a; EPA, 2024e). The number of beaches with poor bathing water quality increased to five in 2023, up from three in 2022. Discharges from waste water overflows and drain misconnections are the main issues at these beaches. Drinking water quality The quality of drinking water from public supplies remains very high, with over 99.7% compliance with bacterial and chemical limits. However, the resilience of drinking water supplies must improve as concerns remain over long-term boil water notices, detections of cryptosporidium, elevated levels of trihalomethanes and lead. 50 public supplies are on the EPA’s Remedial Action List (as at Sept 2024) and Uisce Éireann’s progress in addressing issues has been slow and will require sustained investment. Private supplies have poorer drinking water quality than public water supplies with 1 in 20 failing to meet the E.coli standards. Of the small private supplies, the total number remains unknown and are not being monitored by the local authorities, creating a potential public health risk for consumers. Overall water assessment Overall current assessment for water is ‘poor’ (the same as in 2020). Trends remain mixed, with no net improvement in river or lake water quality in recent years, a sharp decline in the number of monitored estuaries in satisfactory ecological condition and continued direct discharges of raw or inadequately treated sewage to water from 19 agglomerations. Significant challenges remain for achieving full compliance with relevant EU obligations and national policy objectives.