Householders will have to pay an annual charge of up to €175 for their water within two years, the Irish Independent has learned.
The move comes as the Government was forced to admit it will not meet a target to have meters installed in every home in the country by next year. It will, instead, introduce a flat-rate annual fee - expected to be €175 per house, regardless of household income.
The U-turn by Fine Gael comes after pre-election promises that it would not charge for water until every home had a meter installed to measure consumption.
As part of the EU/IMF bailout conditions, the State is required to start charging for domestic water by 2012/2013. Sources said the Government was "locked in" to this provision, regardless of whether meters were in place.
Work on the metering programme - which, the Government says, will take four years to complete - has not yet begun. The project will be funded by the National Pension Reserve Fund. The Government hopes to start installing meters next year.
"At some stage, there's going to be flat-rate charges," a senior government source told the Irish Independent. "No decision has been taken on how we're going to marry the programme for government with the EU/IMF deal, but we're absolutely locked into this deal."
Ireland is one of the only countries in the EU not to charge households for water. The State spends more than €500m a year treating water for domestic use, something the EU/IMF insists must change.
However, the Government will likely face stiff opposition to get a charging system in place. The charge cannot be considered an environmental tax aimed at encouraging conservation if consumption cannot be measured.
If a household of two people has to pay the same as a household of six, there would be no incentive to reduce use.
If the flat rate was imposed on each of the country's 1.4 million households, around €245m a year would be collected.
The Government wants to set up a national authority to take responsibility for the water network and impose charges,.
Details of the plan must be finalised for the EU/IMF by the end of this year. A soon-to-be commissioned study will set out the state of the country's water network, examine how much water is being lost and what works are needed to bring it up to standard.
Junior Environment Minister Fergus O'Dowd would not comment on water charging, saying it was a matter for the Department of the Environment. However, he admitted the country's water system was in a "critical way".
"We need to spend €5bn over the next 10 years to stop leakages, with €250m needed immediately," he told the Irish Independent.
However, collecting the domestic charges could prove difficult, given the experience in the commercial sector. In some areas, as few as 27pc of businesses pay their bills and councils are currently owed €90m.
The Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label planning and water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planning and water. Show all posts
Friday, 6 May 2011
Thursday, 3 April 2008
More than a million at risk from polluted tap water
MORE than one million people are drinking tap water from public supplies on an official pollution "name-and-shame" dossier finally published yesterday.
The 339 public supplies listed -- many of which are identified as not removing deadly bugs properly, such as cryptosporidium -- provide drinking water to 1,260,541 people.
The damning list, affecting more than a quarter of the population, was finally published yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
For the past three months, the agency had refused to identify 339 supplies -- more than one-third of the country's total supplies operated by the local authorities.
Affected householders had been kept in the dark. But yesterday, following an EPA board meeting, the State environment agency released the list of all the supplies.
It paints a worrying picture of the potential risk to human health from deadly cryptosporidium and E-coli bugs, excess aluminium and nitrates linked to cancer and blue baby syndrome.
The EPA also revealed yesterday that it plans to take legal action against some local authorities to force them to clean up their water.
The name-and-shame list also highlights management and treatment problems at some plants. Others have issues in meeting new EU standards due later this year.
Crisis
The publication follows the ongoing tap water contamination crisis in Co Galway, which recently saw up to 1,000 people fall ill from the cryptosporidium parasite in their water. The seaside village of Roundstone, in Connemara is now in the grips of a similar crisis.
The EPA list shows exactly where the supplies in need of remedial action are located, how many people are affected, the type of pollution problem, and the local authority responsible. A total of 1.26 million adults and children are affected.
An EPA statement yesterday said the fact that a public water supply was on this list did not mean that the water produced by the supply was unsafe to drink.
Ger O'Leary, EPA programme manager, said the list was a "road map to good compliance".
He admitted that in some cases the supplies had inadequate treatment, but said that others were being put on notice that they had to raise their game to meet new EU standards coming down the line.
Mr O'Leary said it would take immediate action if there was an outbreak of sickness in any of the at-risk supplies.
Boil notices or orders not to drink the water would then be issued to householders, he said.
According to Mr O'Leary, a number of local authorities supplies were being removed from the list, including Galway city, as they had carried out the necessary works.
The list would be a work-in- progress with some supplies coming off and others added.
Asked why those supplies identified as having inadequate facilities for removing deadly bugs, such as cryptosporidium, were not closed down immediately, he said these supplies had been put on a remedial action list.
In the event of any detection of contamination, the local authority was legally obliged to notify the HSE and the EPA and take appropriate action to protect public health.
"This is a road map to full compliance with drinking water standards," he told the Irish Independent.
The EPA audit also identified water treatment and management problems at supplies in Cork city (123,000 people) and tap water provided to 37,500 Dubliners from the Ballyboden supplies.
The list also reveals that the Galway city supplies to 65,000 people may not meet new standards for dealing with potentially cancer-causing chemical compounds called trihalomethanes (THMs).
No less than 40 public supplies in Co Kerry are on the name-and-shame list, along with 31 supplies in Galway.
The EPA said the list would remain a working list, with the possibility of supplies being added or removed as work is completed and further information becomes available.
The EPA said it is now commencing the process of assessing the information received to determine whether a supply should be replaced, required capital investment for upgrading, and/or needed "significant changes in operational practices".
"In some cases, this may result in the issuing of legal directions to local authorities requiring specific works to be carried out," warned the EPA.
The EPA said its priority was to work to ensure a secure drinking water supply for the Irish public.
Treacy Hogan Environment Correspondent
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
The 339 public supplies listed -- many of which are identified as not removing deadly bugs properly, such as cryptosporidium -- provide drinking water to 1,260,541 people.
The damning list, affecting more than a quarter of the population, was finally published yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
For the past three months, the agency had refused to identify 339 supplies -- more than one-third of the country's total supplies operated by the local authorities.
Affected householders had been kept in the dark. But yesterday, following an EPA board meeting, the State environment agency released the list of all the supplies.
It paints a worrying picture of the potential risk to human health from deadly cryptosporidium and E-coli bugs, excess aluminium and nitrates linked to cancer and blue baby syndrome.
The EPA also revealed yesterday that it plans to take legal action against some local authorities to force them to clean up their water.
The name-and-shame list also highlights management and treatment problems at some plants. Others have issues in meeting new EU standards due later this year.
Crisis
The publication follows the ongoing tap water contamination crisis in Co Galway, which recently saw up to 1,000 people fall ill from the cryptosporidium parasite in their water. The seaside village of Roundstone, in Connemara is now in the grips of a similar crisis.
The EPA list shows exactly where the supplies in need of remedial action are located, how many people are affected, the type of pollution problem, and the local authority responsible. A total of 1.26 million adults and children are affected.
An EPA statement yesterday said the fact that a public water supply was on this list did not mean that the water produced by the supply was unsafe to drink.
Ger O'Leary, EPA programme manager, said the list was a "road map to good compliance".
He admitted that in some cases the supplies had inadequate treatment, but said that others were being put on notice that they had to raise their game to meet new EU standards coming down the line.
Mr O'Leary said it would take immediate action if there was an outbreak of sickness in any of the at-risk supplies.
Boil notices or orders not to drink the water would then be issued to householders, he said.
According to Mr O'Leary, a number of local authorities supplies were being removed from the list, including Galway city, as they had carried out the necessary works.
The list would be a work-in- progress with some supplies coming off and others added.
Asked why those supplies identified as having inadequate facilities for removing deadly bugs, such as cryptosporidium, were not closed down immediately, he said these supplies had been put on a remedial action list.
In the event of any detection of contamination, the local authority was legally obliged to notify the HSE and the EPA and take appropriate action to protect public health.
"This is a road map to full compliance with drinking water standards," he told the Irish Independent.
The EPA audit also identified water treatment and management problems at supplies in Cork city (123,000 people) and tap water provided to 37,500 Dubliners from the Ballyboden supplies.
The list also reveals that the Galway city supplies to 65,000 people may not meet new standards for dealing with potentially cancer-causing chemical compounds called trihalomethanes (THMs).
No less than 40 public supplies in Co Kerry are on the name-and-shame list, along with 31 supplies in Galway.
The EPA said the list would remain a working list, with the possibility of supplies being added or removed as work is completed and further information becomes available.
The EPA said it is now commencing the process of assessing the information received to determine whether a supply should be replaced, required capital investment for upgrading, and/or needed "significant changes in operational practices".
"In some cases, this may result in the issuing of legal directions to local authorities requiring specific works to be carried out," warned the EPA.
The EPA said its priority was to work to ensure a secure drinking water supply for the Irish public.
Treacy Hogan Environment Correspondent
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 21 October 2007
Save Lough Ree campaign set to go global
THE CAMPAIGN to protect the integrity of Lough Ree and oppose plans by Dublin City Council to extract vast volumes of water to serve the growing demands of the greater Dublin area is going global.
The Shannon Protection Alliance (SPA), which is behind the campaign of opposition is lobbying for support in the UK and US and is making moves to establish campaign offices in London and New York.
“We are seeking the support of ex-pats in the UK and US with a view to setting up a support mechanism and campaign offices in London and New York. We are polarising ex-pats from counties along the Shannon basin and this is as much about moral support for our campaign as it is about fundraising,” PJ Walsh PRO for the group said.
“When you take into consideration the costs of scientific reports and the associated legal costs, we estimate that we will need at least €100,000 and that costs could run to as much as €250,000 for this campaign, which could continue for a number of years,” Mr Walsh added. Members of the group have already met with ex-pats and other interested parties in London and are currently in New York drumming up support for their campaign to protect Lough Ree and the River Shannon.
Friends of the Irish Environment
The Shannon Protection Alliance (SPA), which is behind the campaign of opposition is lobbying for support in the UK and US and is making moves to establish campaign offices in London and New York.
“We are seeking the support of ex-pats in the UK and US with a view to setting up a support mechanism and campaign offices in London and New York. We are polarising ex-pats from counties along the Shannon basin and this is as much about moral support for our campaign as it is about fundraising,” PJ Walsh PRO for the group said.
“When you take into consideration the costs of scientific reports and the associated legal costs, we estimate that we will need at least €100,000 and that costs could run to as much as €250,000 for this campaign, which could continue for a number of years,” Mr Walsh added. Members of the group have already met with ex-pats and other interested parties in London and are currently in New York drumming up support for their campaign to protect Lough Ree and the River Shannon.
Friends of the Irish Environment
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