Laois County Council RECEIVING WATER IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Receiving Water Impact Assessment: Ballybrittas WwTP ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Laois County Council RECEIVING WATER IMPACT ASSESSMENT Ballybrittas WwTP DRAFT: December 2009 For inspection purposes only. Consent of copyright owner required for any other use. Prepared on behalf of: WATER SERVICES LAOIS COUNTY COUNCIL County Hall Portlaoise Co. Laois Tait Business Centre, Dominic Street, Limerick City, Ireland. t. +353 61 419477, f. +353 61 414315 e. [email protected] w. www.ecofact.ie __________________________________________________________________________ www.ecofact.ie 1 EPA Export 26-07-2013:18:05:05 Receiving Water Impact Assessment: Ballybrittas WwTP ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This is a receiving water impact assessment report for the Ballybrittas Waste water Treatment Plant (WwTP). It has been prepared under Section F of the Environmental Protection Agencies Waste Water Discharge Licensing Application Guidance Note. This report was prepared during the period November to December 2009 on behalf of Laois County Council by ECOFACT Environmental Consultants Ltd. The current study was based on information compiled during a desk study and a site visit. Information compiled during the desk study included water quality monitoring information supplied by the EPA and Laois County Council, along with information on areas designated for nature conservation obtained from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). An on- site assessment of the Ballybrittas WwTP was carried out during November 2009 to establish the ground conditions and the location of the discharge from the plant, with respect to receiving waters identified within the vicinity of the village. The current assessment has identified that there are currently no direct impacts to surface waters arising from the WwTP at Ballybrittas, as this plant is discharging to ground, via a percolation area directly adjacent to the plant. In the absence of monitoring data for the influent, effluent, groundwater or potential receiving surface waters, it is not possible to draw concise conclusions regarding the impacts arising from the WwTP at Ballybrittas. The overall conclusion of the Article 6 screening matrix was that the continued operation of the existing Ballybrittas WwTP would not affect the unnamed stream or any element of the River Nore and Barrow SAC provided it continues to operate within the current parameters. It is recommended that a monitoring programme be establish at this treatment plant to establish the discharge rates and efficacy of the percolation treatment prior to entry into ground water in the Cushina groundwater body. It is recommended that a discharge licence be granted for the plant. For inspection purposes only. Consent of copyright owner required for any other use. __________________________________________________________________________ www.ecofact.ie 2 EPA Export 26-07-2013:18:05:05 Receiving Water Impact Assessment: Ballybrittas WwTP ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................................... 4 1.2 LEGISLATION....................................................................................................................................... 4 1.3 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................................. 5 1.3.1 Desktop Review ...................................................................................................................... 5 1.3.2 Field Survey Work ................................................................................................................... 5 1.3.3 Assessment Methodology....................................................................................................... 5 1.4 CONSULTATION ................................................................................................................................... 7 2. SCHEME DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 7 2.3 DISCHARGE STANDARDS ....................................................................................................................... 7 3. RECEIVING ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................................................. 8 3.1 CATCHMENT DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................................... 8 3.2 WATER QUALITY.................................................................................................................................. 8 3.2.1 Existing information .......................................................................................................... 8 3.2.4 Assimilation capacity ........................................................................................................ 9 3.4 AREAS DESIGNATED FOR NATURE CONSERVATION ...................................................................................... 9 3.5 PROTECTED AQUATIC FLORA AND FAUNA .................................................................................................. 9 3.6 DESIGNATED RECREATIONAL AND COMMERCIAL FISHERIES .......................................................................... 9 3.7 WATER ABSTRACTIONS ......................................................................................................................... 9 3.8 DESIGNATED RECREATIONAL AND BATHING WATERS ................................................................................... 9 3.9 DESIGNATED NUTRIENT SENSITIVE AREAS ................................................................................................ 10 4. IMPACT ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................. 10 4.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 10 4.2 IMPACT ON WATER QUALITY ................................................................................................................ 10 4.3 IMPACT ON AREAS DESIGNATED FOR NATURE CONSERVATION ..................................................................... 10 4.5 IMPACT ON FISHERIES ......................................................................................................................... 11 4.6 IMPACT ON WATER ABSTRACTIONS ........................................................................................................ 11 4.7 IMPACT ON DESIGNATED RECREATIONAL AREASFor inspection ................................ purposes only. ....................................................... 11 Consent of copyright owner required for any other use. 4.8 IMPACT ON DESIGNATED NUTRIENT SENSITIVE AREAS ................................................................................ 11 5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................. 11 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................... 12 WWW.OSI.IE .................................................................................................................................... 12 PLATES ............................................................................................................................................. 13 APPENDIX 1 MAP OF BALLYBRITTAS AND LOCATION OF WWTP SITE ............................................... 14 APPENDIX 2 SCREENING MATRIX FOR THE BALLYBRITTAS WWTP .................................................... 15 __________________________________________________________________________ www.ecofact.ie 3 EPA Export 26-07-2013:18:05:05 Receiving Water Impact Assessment: Ballybrittas WwTP ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background This report provides a Receiving Water Impact Assessment for the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WwTP) serving Ballybrittas Village, Co Laois. Ballybrittas is a small village in the northeast of County Laois, and is located on the former N7 (Regional Road R445). The village is now bypassed to the south by the M7/M8 Motorway (Heath Mayfield By-pass). According to the 2006 Census Report, Ballybrittas has a population of 768. Ballyshaneduff also known as Derris Wood a proposed Natural Hertiage Area (pNHA) under the Wildlife (Amendment) Act, 2000 is located approximately 1km south of the village of Ballybrittas. The waste water treatment scheme serving Ballybrittas village is located immediately off the N7 at the right hand side of the entrance to The Cottage Collection