It’s been a long hard road for Arklow, with the town struggling for decades with untreated sewage entering the Avoca River, but a milestone has been reached on the road to environmental progress. Arklow has returned to compliance with EU wastewater treatment standards, according to the latest report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The long-awaited Arklow wastewater treatment plant was officially opened in May of 2025 and in the Environmental Assessment for the €139m project treating wastewater from Arklow and beyond, provision for future development was included.
The design capacity was for a population equivalent of approximately 24,000 people but can treat the wastewater of as many as 36,000 people in the future.
Developed by Uisce Éireann, the state-of-the-art facility included underground pipelines to service the new plant, and removed 19 outdated sewage outlets from the Avoca River.
The Avoca River runs through the heart of the town of Arklow and has been important to the town’s development over the centuries, supporting its industrial past and connection to the sea.
The river however is faced with a number of other environmental pressures affecting it including the legacy of past mining activity upstream of the town as well as other pollution entering the river.
Even though the sewerage system has now achieved compliance with wastewater treatment standards as specified by the EU, continued monitoring is required of the ecological recovery of the river. Pollution from historic industrial and mining activities on the river will still need to be addressed by other means.
Elsewhere, the EPA’s latest report highlights the wider challenges facing wastewater treatment across the country, finding that 55% of licensed treatment plants failed to consistently meet the standards set in their discharge licences during 2025.
Work to improve wastewater infrastructure across the country by Uisce Éireann is also being challenged by the environmental regulator. While the work being carried out in Arklow has been completed, wastewater is an ongoing problem throughout County Wicklow.
A separate wastewater treatment project for Avoca village is expected to become operational in 2027.
Continued assessment of discharge quality and the impacts upon the Avoca River and surrounding coastline will also provide crucial information regarding longer-term benefits of this significant investment.
After decades of untreated sewage from homes and businesses in the town emptying into the Avoca River, Arklow has at last taken a major step towards addressing one of its major environmental problems.
