Draft Cork Wastewater Strategy

The economic success of the Cork Metropolitan Area has led to significant growth in Cork City and surrounding areas. The National Planning Framework envisages that Cork will become the fastest growing region in Ireland with a projected 50% to 60% population increase up to 2040.

As a result of this growth, the Wastewater infrastructure is challenged to keep pace with the increased demand for new serviced land needed for housing, commercial developments and industry.

The Draft Cork Wastewater Strategy aims to deliver a sustainable drainage strategy that will protect public health, safeguard our environment and facilitate growth in the Cork Metropolitan Area to 2080.

Uisce Éireann has commenced an 8-week public consultation on the draft Cork Wastewater Strategy and associated environmental reports, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Natura Impact Statement (NIS). To make a submission please send it to Uisce Éireann by email, feedback form or post by 19th of March 2025.

The Draft Cork Wastewater Strategy will assess the capacity of existing Wastewater infrastructure and identify options for upgrades and new developments to meet the region’s needs through to 2080.

It will include a comprehensive analysis of current infrastructure, supported by data collection, population and economic growth projections, and a Strategic Environmental Assessment. The strategy will be informed by consultation with relevant stakeholders to develop medium- and long-term solutions.

It will align with statutory obligations and regulatory requirements, ensuring consistency with national and international environmental objectives, including those set out in the Water Framework Directive and the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.

The Cork Metropolitan Area faces several challenges in relation to Wastewater collection and treatment, including:

• Increase in population.
• Current compliance challenges at a number of Wastewater treatment plants and sewerage networks in the study area.
• Wastewater treatment capacity requirements to deal with current and future loads from the Cork Metropolitan Area.
• Pressures on the receiving waters from Wastewater discharges within the Cork Metropolitan Area.
• Effects of climate change.

Experts from different fields, engineering, ecology, hydrology, and more, worked together through workshops and ongoing discussions to explore all the options.   

This collaborative effort formed the foundation of the Optioneering and Strategy Development process, to identify the most effective drainage and treatment solutions for Cork across three key planning horizons: 2030 (short-term), 2025 (medium-term), and 2080 (long-term).

The process followed a structured five-stage methodology:

1. Identify site-specific needs
2. Generate a comprehensive set of options
3. Screen options for technical and environmental feasibility
4. Assess shortlisted options using Multi-Criteria Assessment
5. Identify the preferred strategy based on modelling and stakeholder input

This rigorous approach led to the creation of the recommended approach – a strategic framework that integrates the most suitable solutions for the Cork Metropolitan Area as a whole. It identifies preferred measures to enhance treatment capacity, drainage efficiency, and overall network performance.

The draft strategy recommends decommissioning 16 smaller wastewater treatment plants, with wastewater redirected to larger, centralised facilities. This approach will enhance operational efficiency, improve environmental outcomes, and strengthen system resilience by consolidating resources and infrastructure. The recommended solutions will be advanced as individual projects and prioritised across the three planning horizons. Each project will undergo its own environmental assessment, where necessary, which may include Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA), ensuring compliance with environmental regulations and alignment with sustainability goals.

As part of the draft Cork Wastewater Strategy, we’ve carried out detailed environmental assessments to ensure our plans protect nature and support sustainable growth. The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Environmental Report looks at how the strategy could affect the environment, including water quality, biodiversity, climate change resilience, recreation and health.

This helped us identify potential risks early and ensures environmental considerations are part of every decision. The Natura Impact Statement (NIS) assessed the potential for the draft strategy to impact on Natura 2000 sites, designated special areas that protect rare habitats and species under the European law. Where we identified any potential risk, we included measures to avoid or reduce those potential risks, safeguarding Cork’s natural heritage. By assessing potential environmental impacts now, we can deliver a wastewater strategy that supports Cork’s growth while protecting the biodiversity and environment of the area.

1. We've identified the need to decommission 16 Wastewater Treatment Plant, upgrade 9 and relocate 1 as part of the recommended approach. Do you have any feedback on the methodology used to determine this approach?
    
2. Section 10 of the draft Cork Wastewater Strategy outlines the methodology used to identify and evaluate potential options for strategic drainage and wastewater treatment solutions in the Cork Metropolitan Area. We invite your feedback on this approach. Do you feel the methodology is robust, transparent, and appropriate for identifying the most feasible and effective solutions?
    
3. Is there anything additional information you feel that Uisce Éireann should consider in development the Draft Strategy?
    
4. Section 12 of the draft Cork Wastewater Strategy outlines the Recommended Approach for the Cork Metropolitan Area, including proposals for its implementation. We welcome your views on these proposals. Do you have any comments or suggestions regarding how the strategy is planned to be delivered?
    
5. Do you have any comments on the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Environmental Report and Natura Impact Statement (NIS) which accompany the draft Cork Wastewater Strategy?
    
6. Are there any additional comments you would like to share regarding the draft Cork Wastewater Strategy? 

In our first public consultation for the Cork Wastewater Strategy, we sought your input to the Issues Paper, Strategic Environmental Assessment Scoping and Appropriate Assessment Screening Report. The consultation ran from 15 May to 23 July 2024. As well as gathering feedback, this public consultation provided an insight into attitudes towards the strategy. Following the conclusion of consultation 1, Uisce Éireann reviewed and considered feedback in the draft Cork Wastewater Strategy presented for public consultation 2.