WWDL_Application – :

Section A1 – Non Technical Summary

As part of the Waste Water Discharge Regulations of 2007, County Council is applying to the EPA for a licence for the Portrane Donabate agglomeration. As the name suggests, the agglomeration relates to the two towns and their immediate environs. The extent of the agglomeration is shown on the accompanying drawing.

Portrane is a small seaside village in North County and is a part of the larger town of Donabate in , Ireland. Its most prominent feature is the hospital. Now over 100 years old, St Ita's Hospital is an impressive collection of red brick buildings which dominate the peninsula. Important features within its main building are two churches and the clock tower. In the hospital grounds is a monument to George Evans, a replica of the round tower in Kildare town. Portrane comes from the Irish Port Reachrainn , meaning the port of Reachrú (place of many shipwrecks), the Irish name for Lambay. The name Lambay itself is a corruption of the Norse name Lambe Eye, meaning the island of lambs or sheep. The name of the area, Donabate , supposedly means "church of the ferry", from Dún a' Bháid , referring to an ancient church which is in the townsland of Ballymadrough, west of Donabate, near the Estuary. Another possible meaning of the name, Domhnach Bheathach or Domhnach Béithe , is "church of the beast". Sadly, the true meaning has become lost in the mists of time. Donabate is reported to have had a population in 1912 of 734 persons living in 150 houses, and it remained a small village for more than a century. In recent years, however, because of the area's easy access to Dublin (improving roads and the presence of a railway station in the village), the population has begun growing quickly. In the 1996 census, the village's population was 1,868; by the time of the 2002 census it had doubled to 3,854. For inspection It was purposes estimat only. ed in 2004 that the population had Consent of copyright owner required for any other use. grown to around 7,000, and planned re-zoning and development may take it to 33,000 or more within a decade. The discharge from the agglomeration is mainly domestic with some commercial. The foul water collection system includes gravity sewers and four pumping stations which direct the flows to the Portrane Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTP). The Portrane WWTP is located in the grounds of St Ita’s Hospital, to the south west of the building complex. The WWTP consists of secondary (biological) treatment and final settlement prior to discharge to the Irish Sea via a short outfall to the east of the Hospital. The plant is designed for a population equivalent (p.e.) of 6,000 and has been partially upgraded in 2005 to help meet the loading of approx 8,000. The sludge is dewatered and the resultant cake is disposed of to landfill. The WWTP is run by with a staff of two. The plant is mechanised and is self governing in the short term. Normal hours are worked from Monday to Friday with a visit on Saturday and Sunday for a visual check. There is no laboratory on site. Samples are taken to check the effectiveness of the process and are tested in the on-site laboratory in the Swords WWTP by Fingal operatives. Samples of

EPA Export 26-07-2013:01:58:37 the effluent are tested in an accredited laboratory for compliance with the requirements of the Urban Waste Water Treatment (UWWT) Regulations. The results show that in general the plant is operating within the limits set by the UWWT Regs. The plant is connected to the Council’s LOGICA telemetry system and can be interrogated from a distance. Alarms when generated are sent via the LOGICA system to mobile phone holders and are picked up by the local inspector or are monitored in Leixlip Water Treatment Works which has a 24 hour presence. The relevant staff are then assigned to the plant.

The quantity of emissions to the receiving environment is of the order of 820,000 cubic metres per year from the primary discharge. There are no secondary discharges and three overflows in the agglomeration. The overflows are at Beaverstown Road in Donabate, Portrane Pump Station (P.S.) on the Donabate/Portrane Road and at the St Ita’s P.S to the south of the hospital complex. All three serve as emergency overflows from pump stations in the event that the pumps loose power or are overwhelmed in heavy rain. There are no flowmeters on the overflows in the agglomeration so no estimate of the quantity from them can be made. The receiving environment is monitored via the Bathing Water Quality testing during the bathing season. The results for 2008 for the designated bathing water beaches of the Brook beach in Portrane and Balcarrick beach in Donabate show that the Blue Flag guidelines were broken throughout the season. Donabate beach failed to meet the Blue Flag guidelines regularly and the National Limit Value once. Portrane beach failed the Blue Flag guidelines a few times early in the season, but met the guidelines for most of June and July. However the results for the month of August were very poor with the mandatory limits being breached on one occasion and the National Limits on two further occasions. This month was a month of very strong winds and high rainfall. There is a program of testing ongoing in under the Dangerous Substances Regulations. A copy of the 2 nd Implementation Report is included with this application. There are two overflows For inspection purposes from only. this agglomeration that discharge to Consent of copyright owner required for any other use. the Rogerstown Estuary.

There is no testing carried out in the agglomeration under the Phosphorous Regulations.

For this application, a sample was taken at the non designated bathing beach of Tower Bay in Portrane and tested for dangerous substances to assess the ambient conditions. The sample met the requirements.

The Portrane Donabate Rush & Lusk Waste Water Treatment Scheme is in progress with the Tender Documents due to issued in 2008. This scheme consists of construction of a new Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) at the location of the existing plant in Portrane, with upgrading of the existing sewer systems and the construction of new pipelines and pumphouses to transfer the sewage from Portrane, Donabate, Lusk and Rush. The new WWTP will cater for a Population Equivalent (p.e.) of 65,000. The treated waste water shall be discharged through a new 1,000m outfall to the Irish Sea and the higher treatment standards will ensure that there is an improvement in the local water quality. The Scheme is expected to be complete in 2012.

EPA Export 26-07-2013:01:58:37