{"id":450153,"date":"2026-05-15T12:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T12:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/450153\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T12:03:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T12:03:09","slug":"kilkees-bathing-water-is-filthy-so-why-are-people-objecting-to-a-water-treatment-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/450153\/","title":{"rendered":"Kilkee’s bathing water is filthy \u2014 so why are people objecting to a water treatment plant?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the status of wastewater treatment showed that, in 2024, raw sewage from 20,000 people in 16 towns and villages was pouring straight into the sea<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition, the EPA says, half of the 1,000 licenced wastewater treatment plants do not always meet treatment standards, resulting in sporadic or chronic pollution discharges, depending on the treatment plant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On top of this, when it rains, surface water overloads pumping stations<\/a>, leading to overflows into rivers and the sea, such as at Portmarnock in Dublin where thousands of cubic metres of filthy effluent regularly disgorge into the sea. 10% of storm water overflows do not meet national standards to control this pollution.<\/p>\n

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB<\/a><\/p>\n

When human sewage is combined with the effluent and slurry from the national livestock population \u2014 tens of millions of cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens \u2014 which is just another form of untreated sewage, it\u2019s not difficult to see why half of our rivers and two thirds of our estuaries are polluted.<\/p>\n

The result is water that is not only unfit for human consumption but, in some lakes during summer, particularly in the north-west of the country, pet owners are warned that allowing their dogs enter the water could lead to their death.<\/p>\n

Lough Neagh<\/a>, the largest lake on the island and source of Belfast\u2019s drinking water, is ecologically collapsed due to pollution<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lough Hyne<\/a> in West Cork has suffered a similar fate, even though it is in the sea. In 2025 there were 126 \u201cprior warnings\u201d due to potentially unsafe swimming conditions arising from high levels of bacteria in popular swimming spots, 47 more than in 2024. The difference is largely down to the volume of rain, which overloads sewers.<\/p>\n

Sailing in West Cork \u2014 into scum and algae<\/p>\n

Two years ago, I sailed on the Celtic Mist<\/a>, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group\u2019s research vessel, from Cork to Baltimore in fine summer weather.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anchoring off Courtmacsherry we awoke the following morning to see the boat surrounded with mats of scum and green algal gunk, the product, mostly, of dairy pollution. Some beaches in the region are now routinely buried under mats of green algae.<\/p>\n

According to the UK\u2019s Health Security Agency, \u201copen water swimming can increase the risk of gastrointestinal illnesses, or stomach bugs, which may cause diarrhoea and\/or vomiting, as well as respiratory, skin, ear and eye infections\u201d.<\/p>\n

Out of sight, out of mind\u00a0<\/p>\n

Society is very accepting of all this. Despite the clear and present threat to our health from wastewater and agricultural run-off, there has been surprisingly little outcry from the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This may be due to the fact that only in extreme circumstances, such as where water bodies start turning green, is the pollution visible. However, even then it is surprising how little disquiet this provokes.<\/p>\n

\"KilkeeKilkee and the spectacular cliffs running south west along Loop Head are among Ireland\u2019s most popular destinations. But raw sewage is pouring into the sea \u2014 sometimes necessitating beach closures \u2014 and yet, people are objecting to a planned wastewater treatment plant. Picture: Valerie O’Sullivan<\/p>\n

It can be contrasted with the chance of local public uprising when a view or a visual amenity is threatened by development.<\/p>\n

Lately, the people of the pretty seaside town of Kilkee, Co Clare, have been up in arms<\/a> at the decision by An Coimisi\u00fan Plean\u00e1la to grant permission to Uisce \u00c9ireann for the construction of a treatment plant for the town.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Currently, Kilkee is among those towns where raw sewage is pouring directly into the sea. Data from the EPA shows that the discharge in 2024 contained 24,197 coliform bacteria per 100ml of effluent. The total volume of effluent dumped in this way is unknown.<\/p>\n

It might be expected that the news that a treatment plant is to be built would be greeted with joy by locals but the opposite seems to be the case. Nearly \u20ac100,000 has been raised to take a judicial review, with many of the complaints centred on the clifftop location of the proposed plant. \u201cIt beggars belief that that anyone could stand on this extraordinary landscape and decide that this is the perfect location for a sewage treatment plant,\u201d said one local.<\/p>\n

Objectors want to preserve the view<\/p>\n

Nearly all of the observations made to Clare County Council (which refused the development) referenced the scenery or the view.<\/p>\n

One referred to \u201cthe unspoiled scenic nature of the proposed site\u201d. Another cited \u201cthe preservation of our town\u2019s natural beauty\u201d.<\/p>\n

Many noted the importance of tourism to the town but beach closures at Kilkee during summer months are now routine due the poor state of the water.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2017<\/a>, nearly a decade ago,\u00a0Kilkee business owners decried a prolonged beach closure<\/a> as \u201cdisgraceful and not good enough\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"HundredsHundreds of runners and walkers enjoying last year’s Run Kilkee winding along the rugged coastline of the Wild Atlantic Way. File picture: Domnick Walsh<\/p>\n

Some locals feel that Uisce \u00c9ireann is trying to pull a fast one as commencing the construction of a primary treatment plant (which is a very basic level of treatment) they are in haste to bypass an update to the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive which must come into force in 2027 and will demand higher standards to be met.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, this was a secondary concern in the smaller number of submissions which referenced this fact. One referenced that the wellbeing of their children was \u201cparamount\u201d, not because of the high levels of harmful bacteria in local waterways but due to the proximity of the proposed new plant to the house of their grandparents, to which they are \u201cfrequent visitors\u201d.<\/p>\n

In refusing the application in January 2024, Clare County Council cited the \u201climited natural screening\u201d and that the development would have \u201cadverse impacts on the visual amenities of the area\u201d (it was one of four reasons for refusal).<\/p>\n

Nobody wants a water treatment plant<\/p>\n

Protecting views and scenery is important. Nobody wants to live beside a wastewater treatment plant. They smell. They\u2019re often ugly but they don\u2019t have to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no reason why they can\u2019t be integrated into the local environment in a visually sensitive way. They are also essential infrastructure in a modern society that protect people, communities, economic development, and nature. They have to go somewhere.<\/p>\n

One of the opponents to the scheme in Kilkee seemed to summarise the general attitude towards much-needed infrastructure development in Ireland \u2014 \u201cwe need a proper treatment plant but not here and not this one\u201d.<\/p>\n

Pretty pastoral views \u2014 and effluent\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the image of cows grazing at pasture is benign, pastoral, and socially acceptable, even though it is the primary reason why waterways up and down the country are polluted. Fields of livestock might make for a nice view, but they are destroying the natural environment.<\/p>\n

Uisce \u00c9ireann has been chastised in the past by the EPA for its slow pace of delivery. It should be aiming to treat wastewater to appropriate standards. But asking them to find a location that is out of sight and downwind of everyone is not realistic, especially given the scattered nature of rural development in Ireland.<\/p>\n

It is often said that concern for the state of our environment in Ireland runs wide but not very deep. It is difficult to communicate a problem that most people can\u2019t see. Our senses and emotions are not very good at detecting long-term, chronic danger.<\/p>\n

Still, the severity of our environmental crisis, which is a crisis in human health as well as nature, remains too poorly appreciated. Should preserving every view of the countryside be given precedence over poisoned waters and collapsed ecosystems? I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n

P\u00e1draic Fogarty is an ecologist and the author of \u2018Whittled Away: Ireland\u2019s vanishing nature\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The latest report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the status of wastewater treatment showed that, in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[185250,1153,246,61,60,82],"class_list":["post-450153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-clare-news","tag-sustainability","tag-environment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}