Statement on CRU water monitoring reports for 2023

Uisce Éireann notes the publication by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) of the Performance Assessment Framework report (PAF) and the Water Sector Customer report (WSCR) for 2023. These reports assess the utility’s performance against a wide range of metrics as set by the CRU, and provide information on water/wastewater services.

In the PAF report the CRU recognises the progress being made by Uisce Éireann across a range of areas, while also acknowledging that challenges remain in relation to certain targets. Where targets have yet to be achieved, Uisce Éireann is committed to meeting these in the shortest possible timeframe.

Justin Johnston, Uisce Éireann’s Strategy, Resilience and Regulation Director, said: “As acknowledged by the CRU, Uisce Éireann fully met 57% of its targets for 2023, an improvement on both of the previous two years. Uisce Éireann was also very close to meeting a number of other key metrics and so achieved or was very close to achieving 76% of its targets for 2023.

“The PAF reports provide positive findings in relation to Uisce Éireann’s customer service performance, with improvements noted in relation to complaints handling and response to queries. It also notes progress in environmental compliance and in improving energy efficiency. In addition, the WSCR Report provides positive finding in relation to Uisce Éireann’s First Fix scheme which saved 235 million litres of water per day since 2015; the fact that there was a reduction in unplanned interruptions in 2023; and also the urgency of progress that has been made in the Uisce Éireann Transformation (UÉT) Programme.

“Significant progress is also being made in addressing the underlying issues in areas where CRU identify as behind target. However, as noted by the CRU, sustained investment will be required for many decades to offset the years of underinvestment in water services. In addition, in relation to areas Uisce Éireann does not currently report on, we are committed to providing this information as soon as possible. However, it is important that Ireland’s unique context be taken into account, and particularly the historically dispersed and fragmented nature of our public water and wastewater services.”

Since submission of both the PAF and WSCR reports for 2023, significant additional progress has been made in key areas including:

• Drinking water quality. The most recent EPA drinking water report notes that over 99.7% of Ireland’s drinking water achieves full compliance with microbiological and chemical standards.
• Boil Water Notices: The implementation of a BWN or other drinking water restriction notice is a necessary measure to protect public health. There are scenarios where BWNs are imposed proactively, on a precautionary basis, e.g. to facilitate emergency works, where automatic shut-down alarms need to be temporarily bypassed to ensure continuity of supply. The number of long term Boil Water Notices continue to fall, with four supplies currently on Boil Water Notices for more than 30 days, representing a total population of less than 10,000 people – a considerable reduction in the figure of 62,000 in the 2023 PAF report.
• Raw sewage discharges: Uisce Éireann has made great progress in ending the unacceptable practice of discharging raw sewage into rivers, lakes and the sea. Of the 50 locations where raw sewage was being discharged when the utility was set up in 2013, 41 of these have been completed or are under construction, representing a drop of 85% in the volume of raw sewage being discharged. Uisce Éireann is committed to providing treatment in the remaining nine locations. However, this is not without its challenges, and we have experienced delays in obtaining the necessary statutory consents for the projects and encountered legal challenges in a number of these locations.
• Leakage: Through the Leakage Reduction Programme Uisce Éireann is investing €250  million every year to tackle leakage. This has brought leakage down from 46% in 2014 to under 37%, and we are on track to achieve our target of 25% nationally (20% in the Greater Dublin Area) by 2030.
• Security of Supply: Uisce Éireann has published National and Regional Water Resources plans which set out how we will balance the supply and demand for drinking water over the short, medium and long term. This is a 25-year strategy to ensure we have a safe, sustainable, secure and reliable drinking water supply for everyone. Supply in the Greater Dublin Area remains on a knife-edge. Currently the area’s water supply is struggling to meet the challenges of a growing population and economy. The Water Supply Project Eastern and Midlands region will be critical to ensure a secure supply for 50% of the population and must be progressed as a matter of urgency. Similarly, in wastewater it is essential that the Greater Dublin Drainage project is delivered.

Justin Johnston concluded: “Our primary focus continues to be delivering safe, clean and environmentally compliant water and wastewater services through essential projects, and ongoing maintenance and upgrading of infrastructure. Real progress has been made to support customers and communities across Ireland, but challenges remain and we are committed to working with our regulator, Government and other stakeholders to ensure these can be achieved.

“As many of our projects are long term, the current level of investment must be sustained over multiple investment cycles to ensure we can deliver on our commitments to Government and to our regulators, and to meet the needs of communities and businesses. There also needs to be improvements in the planning and consenting processes to allow us to deliver infrastructure and upgrades in a timely manner, and enable us to achieve our ambitious targets.”