Minister unveils €5.8bn plan for water services

A €5.8 billion plan to upgrade the State's water services, was outlined yesterday by Minister for the Environment John Gormley. He warned of new penalties for those who pollute water or fail to meet new licensing standards for sewage plants.

Mr Gormley said access to clean drinking water was "a fundamental right" and he knew the "inconvenience, distress and anxiety" caused by notices to householders to boil water.

He said the €5.8 billion fund would include money for 955 separate schemes across the State, with a special package to target drinking water schemes which were at risk from E.coli and cryptosporidium pollution.

The money also included €282 million for water conservation measures. In cases where water supplies were identified as "vulnerable", schemes could be fast- tracked for funding, he said.

But the Minister warned that under a new licensing system for waste water treatment plants, local authorities which fail to meet licensing standards will face prosecution and fines.

He said users of water services have a "duty of care" under the 2007 Water Services Act. Those who caused pollution or otherwise put public health at risk, would face on-the-spot fines.

In August, penalties were also introduced for farmers in breach of the new nitrates directive, which aims to limit the amount of fertiliser on Irish farmland in order to protect water resources.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is also drawing up new environmental standards for rivers and lakes, and from the end of next year there are to be new river basin management plans which will cover every river and lake in the country.

Launching the programme, Mr Gormley said there was "no easy off-the-shelf-solution" to cryptosporidium or E.coli pollution.

But he had set up a specialist group from his department and the EPA to work with local authorities to identify "vulnerable supplies" which could then be "fast-tracked" through the approval process.

Some €774 million of the €5.8 billion in funding is currently being spent on schemes which are already under way, while €606 million has been set aside to start 82 further schemes this year.

In 2008, the pace is to increase again with 212 schemes starting at a cost of €1.543 billion. In 2009, the Government is planning to start another 149 schemes at a cost of €1.292 billion, while the value of schemes in planning accounts for €933 million.

The remainder of the funding is to provide €234 million for schemes under the serviced land initiative; €123 million for schemes under the rural towns and villages initiative; and some €61 million for river basin management programmes. It is expected the €282 million for water conservation measures will cover 27 schemes.

On the subject of reducing water leakage, Mr Gormley said that measures to reduce leakage in the Greater Dublin Area since the mid-1990s had ensured that it had been possible to cater for a large increase in population.