Irish Water not ready to upgrade treatment plant despite sewage flow into sea

Michael Bolton

State utility Irish Water – now Uisce Éireann – has said it is not able to move to the next stage of upgrading a wastewater treatment plant in Newport, Co Mayo.

The pollution crisis in the Mayo town has caused sewage to flow into Clew Bay. Local councillors say people in Newport are unable to develop their businesses or bring in new trade due to the ongoing pollution of the sea waters around the town.

At a municipal district meeting earlier this year, local councillor John O'Malley said: “Five years ago, they were told the money was already allocated for the Newport Sewerage Treatment Plant but not one thing has been done by Irish Water in the town, and since 1965, there is raw sewerage going out into the bay.

"Families and children cannot swim or have any fun in the bay, they have to drive 10 miles away. If it was a farmer that put one fraction of that sewerage into the bay they would be fined immediately and have their single farm payment taken off them."

Newport currently has two septic tanks which do not provide effective treatment for the wastewater generated in the town.

Uisce Éireann plans to decommission these septic tanks and build a new wastewater treatment plant and a marine outfall for treated wastewater.

This will ensure that Newport complies with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive while at the same time allowing the economic growth of the town.

However, Uisce Éireann is only at stage two of the plan, which involves undertaking a detailed analysis, developing a short list of solutions and finding the preferred option from the short list of projects based on a detailed financial and economic appraisal. This stage also includes estimating the total cost of the project.

In a statement to breakingnews.ie, Uisce Éireann said delays in obtaining a licence meant it was unclear how many more delays there will be in the project.

"As part of this stage, a licence is required to carry out the surveys needed to develop a marine model. Up until recently, the appropriate licence for this type of work was a Foreshore Licence.

"In 2022, Uisce Éireann applied for a Foreshore Licence to the Foreshore Unit, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. At that time, Foreshore Licences took up to 3 years to approve.

"The Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA), was established in the 2nd half of 2023, replacing the functions of Foreshore Unit.

"Once MARA was established, Uisce Éireann had to withdraw its Foreshore Licence application and restart the process with MARA from the beginning, to obtain a new licence, known as a Maritime Usage Licence (MUL) to carry out the necessary survey work.

Uisce Éireann has had ongoing engagement with MARA since its establishment to understand and prepare a detailed Maritime Usage Licence (MUL) application and supporting technical information.

"MUL applications require more data and analysis to be provided than the previous Foreshore Licence process, including environmental screening (Appropriate Assessment) for survey works, for example.

"We have recently made our MUL submission to MARA. It is our experience however, that based on several other consent applications UÉ currently has with MARA and our ongoing engagement with them, there is a lack of clarity on how long it will take for the MUL application to be considered and a licence granted.

"Uisce Éireann cannot carry out the survey work to progress to the next stage of the project without a Maritime Usage Licence.

"Once we are granted a licence and can then carry out the work to complete the Preliminary Business Case we can provide better clarity on the likely timescale for completion of this project, assuming no further unforeseen delays.

"We will provide a further update to stakeholders once the Maritime Usage Licence is granted.

"A recent submission to the EPA put this project completion date at 2030, with significant caveats around the time it may take to receive the statutory consents required.

"Estimated completion dates for this or any project will be impacted by planning delays, legal challenges, land negotiations, or licencing delays including an application to MARA for a Marine Area Consent (MAC) which will be required for the operation of the permanent outfall from the proposed Newport Wastewater Treatment Plant."