Water Services Background Document 2020
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2020 Cork County Development Plan Review Water Services Background Document No. 7 Planning Policy Unit Cork County Council 12th March 2020 Water Services Background Document 2020 2020 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 1 1.1 Water Quality .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background ............................................................................................................................. 2 2 Irish Water - Overview ............................................................................. 4 3 National and Regional Policy .................................................................... 6 3.1 National Planning Framework................................................................................................. 6 3.2 Draft Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy for the Southern Region ................................ 7 3.3 Other Issues ............................................................................................................................ 8 4 Summary of Water Supply and Waste Water Infrastructure for Cork County ......................................................................................................... 10 4.1 Water Supply ......................................................................................................................... 10 4.2 Waste Water ......................................................................................................................... 11 4.3 Surface Water ....................................................................................................................... 12 4.4 Water Services Infrastructure ............................................................................................... 12 4.5 Water Services Analysis by Municipal District ...................................................................... 19 5 Other Issues ........................................................................................... 36 5.1 Compliance ........................................................................................................................... 36 5.2 Lead in pipes ......................................................................................................................... 36 5.3 Boil Notices ........................................................................................................................... 36 Appendices .................................................................................................. 37 Water Services Background Document 2020 1 Introduction 1.1 Water Quality 1.1.1 Water is a fundamental building block of life and therefore the quality of the water we use in our daily lives is of huge significance to, not only our physical wellbeing but also our economic wellbeing. The water services infrastructure on which we depend is an important component in limiting any adverse effects of human activity on the environment but also provides the clean water on which we depend. Before considering the water services infrastructure picture, it is worth considering the baseline environment in relation to water quality. 1.1.2 Under the EU Water Framework Directive Ireland is obliged to produce a River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) and the current plan covers the period 2018-2021. The plan details a series of actions to protect and improve water quality and achieve good ecological status in all our waterbodies by 2027. 1.1.3 The most recent data on the existing water quality in County Cork for the period 2013-2018 (published in 2019) shows that the majority of our river and coastal water bodies have achieved good or high status, while our lakes and transitional waters have significantly higher percentages of poor status water bodies. Coastal 11% 67% 22% High Transitional 8% 50% 25% 17% Good Moderate Lake 36% 45% 18% Poor Bad River 18% 60% 16% 6% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Fig. 1 Water Quality Status in Cork County for the period 2013-2018 Source: EPA – Catchments.ie website 1 Water Services Background Document 2020 1.1.4 Water quality data back to 2007 (See Fig. 2 overleaf) shows a worrying trend up to 2015, with deterioration in the number of waterbodies achieving good status and corresponding increases in the number of moderate and poor ranked waterbodies. An improvement can be seen for the period 2013-2018 with a notable increase in the percentage of good quality surface waters. Unfortunately the percentage of high status water surface waters has decreased by 6% to the lowest level on record since 2007. There is clearly considerable room for improvement and investment in water services infrastructure will contribute to reversing this decline. Time Period High Good Moderate Poor Bad 2007-2009 22% 59% 14% 5% 1% 2010-2012 23% 54% 16% 6% 0% 2010-2015 22% 51% 17% 10% 0% 2013-2018 16% 57% 19% 7% 1% Fig. 2 Water Quality Status for all Surface Waters in Cork County - Trend 2007-2018 Source: EPA – Catchments.ie website, 2019 1.2 Background 1.2.1 The Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, seeks to integrate the development plan process and water management through the requirement for Development Plans to have regard to the water services strategic plan for the area and to support the protection and enhancement of water quality, and compliance with environmental standards and objectives regarding water quality. 1.2.2 The Draft Guidelines on Water Services (published January 2018) emphasise the importance of Planning Authorities ascertaining the current position with regard to water services when preparing a plan. The Guidelines (page 9) indicate that “the quantum, location and distribution of new development must have regard to the capacity of public water services and make efficient use of, and maximise the capacity of, existing and planned water services infrastructure.” 1.2.3 The guidelines further indicate that where “the provision or upgrade of water services infrastructure is a critical determinant for development in a plan area, the planning authority should seek to establish, in consultation with Irish Water, the key delivery requirements and whether the capacity constraints are likely to be addressed within the life time of the plan. .........It is recommended that, in preparing plans, Planning Authorities clearly identify the phasing of development to the provision of appropriate water services infrastructure”. 1.2.4 This report aims to give a general account of the status of water services infrastructure within Cork County, including drinking water supply and waste water treatment, highlighting which settlements have water services capacity and those where services are absent or require further investment. 2 Water Services Background Document 2020 1.2.5 This report has been informed by data collected through the 4 separate workshops held by the Planning Policy Unit with Water Services senior management and operational staff across the four engineering zones within Cork County in April/May 2019. In addition, separate meetings were held with Irish Water and senior management to discuss strategic issues in particular with regard to the larger growth centres as identified in the National Planning Framework and the Draft Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy for the Southern Region and also environmentally sensitive areas. 3 Water Services Background Document 2020 2 Irish Water - Overview 2.1.1 Irish Water (IW) assumed responsibility for water services in 2014 and has developed a seven-year Business Plan for the period 2015 to 2021. The plan outlines the status of the water services infrastructure across the country and identifies a number of investment priorities for the organisation including upgrading drinking water treatment plants to avoid drinking water contamination (boil water notices / excessive levels of lead etc) and reducing leakage in the drinking water supply network to 38% nationally by 2021 (at 49% nationally in 2015); completing repairs to the sewer network, provision of new Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) to bring raw discharges to an end by 2021 and providing additional capacity in the drinking water and sewer networks etc. The organisation also seeks to deliver €1.1bn in efficiencies and cost savings, and invest €5.5bn in infrastructure. 2.1.2 The business plan notes that “the repair and upgrading of our water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, water network and sewer network will require a multi-billion euro investment programme over many years. There will not be sufficient funding available in the shorter term to deliver everything that is needed. In implementing the capital investment programme, Irish Water will prioritise investment decisions to ensure that it utilises available capital most effectively by making investments that deliver the biggest impact while maximising value-for-money”. 2.1.3 In 2015, Irish Water published the Water Services Strategic Plan, a 25 year Plan which includes a list of 44 settlements discharging untreated effluent, 24 of which were in the Region and 6 of which were located in Cork County. A number of these settlements are now provided with wastewater treatment, and Irish Water is aiming to deliver the upgrades to the remaining settlements by the end of 2021. Achieving the necessary compliance with the Urban Waste Water Treatment (UWWT) Directive is currently the focus of Irish Water’s investment