Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 204: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of incidents of water or land pollution deemed to have been caused by malfunction under capacity of municipal waste water treatment facilities; his planned or proposed action arising; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44625/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The most recent three-year report on water quality, by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Water Quality in Ireland 2004-2006 , identifies nutrient enrichment causing eutrophication as the main threat to water quality in Ireland. Municipal sources (mainly sewage discharges) and agricultural activities are identified as the main sources of nutrient enrichment.

Of the 2,985 river and stream sites examined in the report, a total of 39 locations were assessed as seriously polluted. Municipal sources were suspected to be the likely cause of pollution in 21 of these cases. A further 386 sites were considered to be moderately polluted with municipal sources being the suspected cause in 166 of these cases. The information requested in relation to land pollution is not available in my Department. The Department continues to invest substantially in the development of national water services capacity through the Water Services Investment Programme 2010-2012 . The current Programme is aligned with the priorities identified in the first cycle of River Basin Management Plans and has also taken into account relevant EPA reports on waste water discharges.

Discharges from local authority waste water treatment plants are subject to authorisation by the EPA under the Waste Water Discharge (Authorisation) Regulations 2007. The Agency may grant or refuse a licence and, where granting a licence, has the power to attach such conditions as are, in the opinion of the Agency, necessary to give effect to the requirements of existing environmental legislation in the field of water policy.