A report by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) dealing with urban waste water discharges for the years 1998/99 makes for depressing reading. Not only was nearly one third of all sewage generated in this State pumped - untreated - into our lakes, rivers and estuaries but, in instances where sludge was recovered, 76 per cent of it was not put to beneficial use. The report contains a litany of complaints against local authorities for their failure to properly manage and monitor waste water systems and sludge disposals. In regard to the latter, it notes the Government has already been warned by the EU Commission that proper controls must be imposed on the use of sludge as an agricultural fertiliser so as to protect and enhance the quality of our food.
The administrative shambles identified by the EPA should not come as a surprise to the Government. Successive Ministers for the Environment have added significantly to the responsibilities of local authorities in recent years through EU-inspired waste water legislation. But they failed to follow through in providing for necessary funding and the training of personnel. As a consequence, the EPA has been forced to repeat the recommendations of earlier reports dealing with proper management and sampling methods and to outline the most basic requirements.
The situation is not entirely gloomy. A major capital investment scheme has been authorised by this Government in waste water treatment plants. Under the National Development Plan 2000-2006, an estimated £1,000 million will be invested during the next five years. And a spokesperson for the EPA predicted that the current unsatisfactory situation in relation to the discharge and treatment of sewage will improve rapidly during the coming 18 months. While the establishment and upgrading of waste water treatment systems is a very welcome development, the changing nature of our society, and a rapidly increasing population, has put extra pressure on the systems. From 1997 to 1999, for example, the estimated population of Dublin - based on waste water generation - rose from 1 million to 1.8 million persons. The practice of dumping Dublin's sludge at sea ended in 1999 because of EU regulations and the Ringsend plant now produces and sells more than 15,000 tonnes of thermally treated sludge for agricultural use. Elsewhere in the State, according to the report, 76 per cent of all the sludge recovered is not recycled and is either dumped in landfill sites or at sea. The EPA pointedly remarks that "other reuse routes such as forestry and bog restoration have to date not been favoured by sanitary authorities." Compliance with EU regulations and with proper procedures was identified as a vital requirement where sludge was to be reused in agriculture. The EPA found only three local authorities had adequate soil testing facilities and it noted an overall lack of proper record-keeping. Unless the sludge was injected or worked into the land, it said, the material would first have to undergo biological, chemical or heat treatment in order to reduce its "fermentability and the health hazards resulting from its use." It is clear that the disposal of sludge, particularly industrial sludge that contains heavy metals, may become a problem in the future. In that regard, the EPA expresses concern that all sludge be analysed, along with the soil types on which it is spread, to ensure that excessive application rates do not amount to a quick-fix method of disposal. The overall verdict of the report was blunt: Must do better.