How drinking water will become scarcer and more polluted as climate change impacts hit Ireland

Irish Independent

4 days ago

The report looks at the expected ­impacts on water quality and water infrastructure over the next 25 years and warns that substantial risks loom.
More frequent summer droughts – already being experienced – will deplete supplies and cause higher concentrations of pollutants that make it harder to treat water to a standard safe to drink.
Natural minerals such as manganese will also become more concentrated, discolouring supplies with staining pigments.
Higher temperatures year-round, but particularly in summer, will make ­rivers and lakes warmer which ­reduces the amount of oxygen in the water and kills plants and fish.
Their decomposing remains will contaminate water sources which will also be prone to higher levels of disease-causing cryptosporidium which thrives at warmer temperatures.
Other fish species, such as salmon and eels, will be unable to reach breeding sites because water flows will be too low to carry them over weirs and other obstructions.
More frequent winter rain, and more importantly, more intense downpours – also already being experienced – will wash more agricultural waste, urban debris and degraded peatland soils into rivers and lakes.
Agricultural waste fills waterways with excessive nutrients and fuels algal blooms while peaty soils and debris also make filtering water at treatment centres more difficult and require higher levels of disinfection.
Climate change poses substantial risks for the water quality and water services infrastructure sectors
Sea-level rise – forecast to be as much as half a metre by 2050 – presents other problems with saltwater intruding on freshwater sources.
Increasingly intense storms, which have also been occurring, will further salinate freshwaters by driving tidal surges inland.
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Storm damage to water and wastewater treatment infrastructure is also expected to be severe – with winds and floods rupturing pipes, disrupting plant and equipment and knocking out electricity lines needed to power them.
'Climate change poses substantial risks for the water quality and water services infrastructure sectors as a result of both gradual changes in average climate conditions, such as increases in average temperature, and as a result of acute climate changes, such as changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events,' the report states.
It chronicles the impacts of a wide range of extreme events over the last few decades, ranging from regional outbreaks of waterborne disease to ­localised loss of treatment plants.
There is generally a lack of storage in the Irish system
Prolonged icy temperatures, while rarer, have also caused damage by breaking pipes and disrupting treatment.
The report warns that water shortages will be exacerbated by the growing population and increasing demand for water.
'There is generally a lack of storage in the Irish system – most abstractions are run-of-river with little or no in-network storage for raw or treated water,' it says.
The report will be developed into an 'adaptation plan' for the water sector which will require heavy investment in expanding and climate-proofing infrastructure as well as greater protections for water sources.
The report is open for public consultation and comments can be submitted until August 6.