The quality of bathing water at popular beaches fell dramatically in 2014. Such a rapid deterioration had not been experienced since 1991 and the cause was obvious.
A total of 48 incidents of pollution were reported in that year, more than half of them involving local authority sewage while eight came from agriculture. Following the economic downturn, cash-strapped local authorities had not properly maintained or invested in sewage treatment plants.
Irish Water was established as a national utility in 2014 and given responsibility for the drinking water and sewage systems of 31 local authorities. To say the decision was unpopular would be an understatement. But there was a job to be done in providing safe drinking water for households and disposing of their waste in an appropriate manner.
The charge was divided evenly between the two functions. Since then, there has been identifiable progress. The number of ‘boil water’ notices has fallen; improvements have been recorded for bathing water quality and investment projects involving both water and sewage are underway.
This week's report from the Environment Protection Agency found that more than 90 per cent of bathing sites are suitable for swimming. Six beaches failed to reach minimum standards and four of these, Youghal, Duncannon, Rush and Ballyloughan, have been serial offenders.
Remedial action is planned for these centres. It was heartening, however, that Clifden – which failed every test since 2004 – now has acceptable water quality, as does Lilliput on Lough Ennell and Ardmore in Waterford.
This does not represent a great leap forward in environmental terms, more an incremental improvement. But if the health and safety of the public is to be given the priority it deserves, the remedial work that is underway through Irish Water should be allowed to continue.
Transferring responsibility for drinking water and sewage treatment back to local authorities, because of party political strategy, would jeopardise the progress that has been made and risk another decade of under-investment and mismanagement.