That this area committee asks the Manager to engage with the Department of Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to resolve the urgent issue of pollution of the Dublin Bay biosphere through inadequacy of wastewater treatment in Dublin Bay which is endangering bathing water quality on Dollymount strand and off Bull Island.
Minutes:
That this area committee asks the Manager to engage with the Department of Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to resolve the urgent issue of pollution of the Dublin Bay biosphere through inadequacy of wastewater treatment in Dublin Bay which is endangering bathing water quality on Dollymount strand and off Bull Island.
Reply:
Irish Water is the owner of the Ringsend Waste Water Treatment Plant and is best placed to address any queries in relation to any inadequacies at their facility or clarify what those possible inadequacies may be and any actions they may be undertaking to address them. Irish Water operate Ringsend Waste Water Treatment Plant in accordance with discharge licence D0034-01 which is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Industries that discharge wastewater (typically referred to as trade effluent) to a sewer or waters, are required to obtain the relevant discharge licence in accordance with the Water Pollution Act 1977, as amended. Discharge licences ensure that effluent is treated to the highest possible standard and released in a controlled manner that protects the receiving environment. Licences are issued under Section 4 and Section 16 of the Local Government Water Pollution Act 1977, as amended. Trade effluent licences are regulated by three separate bodies namely Dublin City Council, Irish Water and the EPA. The type of licence required depends on the scale and composition of the discharge.
Sampling of trade effluent is carried out as per the frequency determined in the discharge licence. Dublin City Council regularly audits compliance of results with licence conditions and takes appropriate enforcement actions as necessary under the Water Pollution Act 1977, as amended. Dublin City Council is satisfied that it carries out its regulatory responsibilities in a professional manner and in accordance with the requirements of the relevant regulations and we are not aware of any third party operating their facility outside of their own licenses.
In November 2019, Dublin City Council (DCC) set up a Task Force including representatives from Irish Water, Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (DHPLG) and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (DLRCC). The Task Force meets on a monthly basis and is working to improve water quality on Merrion and Sandymount beaches and to address other issues. The Council also hosts high level meetings with EPA, HSE and DHPLG on this issue. We will of course highlight your correspondence when we next meet.
The Council is working closely with UCD Acclimatize, a research project which aims to identify the main sources of pollution in Dublin Bay Area. We are also consulting with several other councils, Inland Fisheries Ireland, DCU and Local Authority Waters Programme Regional Office (LAWPRO).
Since the introduction of the task force, water quality at Sandymount Strand has improved from Poor in 2018, to Sufficient in 2019 and 2020. This means that the permanent prohibition was lifted and bathing is now permitted. DCC is committed to improving water quality at Merrion Strand and across Dublin’s bathing areas.
In relation to bathing waters, Dublin City Council (DCC) does monitor and report on bathing water quality all year around at six bathing areas, including Dollymount Strand and the North Bull Wall. If I may take this opportunity to outline our role in that regard;
In relation to the remit of DCC and our monitoring of bathing waters, the responsibilities of a local authority are set out in the Bathing Water Quality Regulations 2008 (S.I. No. 79/2008). The Regulations require that Local Authorities monitor bathing water quality at their designated bathing waters during the bathing season which is from the 1st June to 15th September each year.
There are two designated bathing areas in Dublin City Council’s jurisdiction to where the Regulations apply, namely; Dollymount and Sandymount Strands, In addition, DCC monitors the bathing water quality at four non-designated bathing areas, namely; North Bull Wall, Half Moon, Merrion Strand & Shelly Banks.
DCC monitors bathing water quality on at least 20 separate occasions at each bathing area during the bathing season (regardless of designation), this is five times the legally required frequency. DCC also continues to monitor bathing water quality across all six bathing areas outside of the bathing season on a fortnightly basis.
DCC makes the results of the water sample analyses available on an ongoing basis on our website and by means of on-site notices in accordance with Schedule 4 of the Regulations (Cabinets with noticeboards adjacent to the six bathing areas). During the bathing season, the water quality assessment data from the designated bathing waters is also published on the EPA hosted website www.beaches.ie.
Our DCC website also provides further information as to our activities and reporting in relation to bathing water monitoring, including the recently recorded ‘excellent’ bathing water quality at Dollymount Strand.
Should you have any issues accessing the data at the onsite cabinets or on our website please contact us for assistance. The staff managing this work can be contacted at any time in the future at waterpollution@dublincity.ie and they or I would be happy to assist you.
Karl Mitchell
Acting Executive Manager /Director of Services
North City
Contact: Gerry O’Connell, Senior Engineer (A), Flood Projects and Water Framework Directive Division
Roy O’Connor, Senior Executive Engineer, Water Pollution Control, Flood Projects and Water Framework Directive Division
Phone: 222 2222
Email: waterpollution@dublincity.ie
Order: Agreed. Report to Councillor.