EPA to Investigate Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has been informed by Irish Water about a brown colourered discharge photographed coming from its Ringsend waste water treatment plant. Irish Water have said that they have not noticed any unusual occurrence or breakdown at the plant over the last 48hours. Irish Water continue to investigate.

The EPA have sent inspectors to the plant today (2/7/2019) to investigate and to take samples for testing.

Irish Water confirmed "no incidents have occurred at the Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant in the last 48 hours"

The EPA has repeatedly said "that Ringsend treatment plant is failing to meet national and European Union treatment standards. It is failing to meet these standards and failing to comply with the requirements of its waste water discharge licence because the plant is not big enough to adequately treat all of the waste water that it receives."

The EPA goes on to say that "waste water discharged back into the environment from this overloaded plant is breaching, and will continue to breach, the quality standards until upgrade works are complete."

Irish water are investing over €400 million on a stage upgrade of the Ringsend facility as the plant is currently overloaded.

Ringsend has a capacity to treat water from a population of 1.64million, but the load entering the plant is equivalent to that of 2.3million.

It is expected that additional treatment capacity for 400,000 will be completed by 2020, while capacity will get to 2.4million by 2023.

The EPA and Irish Water continue to work together. However the EPA say "it is likely the problems with the discharge will continue at this overloaded treatment plant until the upgrade works are completed, between 2020 (phase 1) and 2023 (phase 2). This means that there may be a discoloured plume visible from time to time until the plant is upgraded."