‘Correct level of treatment’?

The River Shannon Environmental Protection Alliance (RSEPA) has challenged Uisce Éireann’s statement of September 25 that wastewater discharges receive “the correct level of treatment” and say it is hard to square with the utility’s own track record.

Cllr Seamus Morris, Director of the RSEPA, stated: “Uisce Éireann says wastewater receives the correct level of treatment but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tells a different story. In 2025 59% of its wastewater sites failed consistently to meet effluent standards.

“The public is entitled to ask whether the statement holds up. People living along the Shannon deserve transparency, and that begins with Uisce Éireann publishing the current compliance status of the Ballina plant.”

On this basis, the RSEPA argues that simply meeting licence conditions cannot be presented as proof that wastewater is being treated to the level needed to protect rivers and lakes from all nutrients that harm them. More broadly, it is asking whether the standards the EPA sets are strong enough to protect water quality.

The RSEPA also revised the latest Annual Environmental Reports (AERS) and identified 15 wastewater treatment plants between Mullingar and Parteen discharging into the Shannon catchment that were reported as non-compliant. This includes the Ballina plant, which was classified as non-compliant in its 2025 AER, the latest available, with failures recorded for amonia, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD, a measure of how oxygen dischargse from strips of water) and orthophosphate (form of phosphorus that feeds algae). These results predate the full commissioning of the upgraded plant, and the RSEPA wants its current compliance status published.

With regards to the nitrogen dispute, Uisce Éireann has said “it is inaccurate and misleading” to suggest that nitrogen in wastewater is a significant contributor to recent algae blooms in Lough Derg. However, the EPA research cited by Uisce Éireann itself recognises nitrogen, along with phosphorus, as an important nutrient behind harmful algal blooms.

The wider nitrogen issue remains. Following the upgrade of the Ballina plant, Uisce Éireann confirmed that the plant has no dedicated nitrogen removal treatment or total nitrogen limit. If Uisce Éireann has evidence demonstrating that wastewater is not a significant contributor to recent nutrient conditions on Lough Derg, RSEPA is calling for that evidence and any source appointment analysis to be made public.

“Dublin should not be supplied with the highly polluted Shannon water,” Cllr Morris said. “Making Shannon water drinkable via the Shannon pipeline project would take substantial chemical treatment that raises real concerns for the health of people along the route. This is why we intend take this issue to the EU.”

Independent Clare MEP Michael McNamara this week supported the RSEPA position and criticised Uisce Éireann following the recent public health advisory over algal blooms on Lough Derg. “The situation raises serious questions about how the utility is managing the wastewater responsibilities transferred from local authorities,” Mr McNamara said.