Loss Of Gold Coast Status At Arklow South Beach May Impact On Sewage Works

A recent report claimed four key sewage works projects including one in Wicklow, are facing significant delays.

According to the Business Post, the development of a treatment plant in Arklow, as well as projects in Athlone, Roscommon and Enniscorthy, have been put back to at least 2024.

 Ireland faces multimillion-euro fines by the E.U. for failing to prevent raw sewage in these areas from going directly into rivers and the sea.

Correspondence between the Government and the European Commission, obtained under Freedom of Information show delays to the Arklow Sewage Treatment Plant will last 10 months.

Following consultation with tenderers, Irish Water has extended the tender period by four months and the estimated construction period by 6
months.

The revised date for the project start is now the 1st of June 2021 and the completion date is now the 1 June 2024, an adjustment of 10 months on the date provided in the original programme.

The long delays in providing a waste treatment plant in Arklow are now being blamed for the town’s south beach being stripped of its Gold Coast Award after only one year.

The award recognises beaches of high environmental standard, but the south Wicklow beach has been found to have poor water quality.