Council praised by EPA after stopping pollution into Kildare river
River Liffey. Photo for illustrative purposes only
KILDARE County Council has been recognised for its handling of two pollution incidents that threatened a tributary of the River Liffey.
The council has been recognised as an example of “good practice” by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its newest report.
The report found that Kildare County Council successfully identified and halted unauthorised trade and sewage effluent discharges discovered during farmland inspections in 2025.
Inspectors uncovered pollution entering a tributary of the River Liffey. Further investigations traced one source to a commercial premises in a nearby business park, where wastewater was being discharged into the stormwater system before flowing into a local stream.
Council officials carried out site inspections, drainage surveys and water quality sampling, with tests revealing very high Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels, indicating significant organic pollution.
The business was instructed to immediately stop the discharge and change its operations. Following engagement with the council, the operator installed a closed-loop recycling system, allowing wastewater to be collected and reused instead of being discharged into the environment.
During the same investigation, council officers identified a second unauthorised sewage discharge within the business park. A Section 12 Notice under the Water Pollution Act was issued to the site owner, requiring the immediate cessation of the discharge and the installation of appropriate wastewater treatment facilities.
The EPA said the notice was fully complied with, eliminating both pollution sources and improving protection for local water quality. It added that continued monitoring and regulatory oversight by Kildare County Council will help prevent future impacts on the River Liffey catchment.
The council's work is highlighted as an example of best practice in the EPA's Local Authority Environmental Enforcement Performance Report 2025, which assesses how Ireland's 31 local authorities performed against the National Enforcement Priorities (NEPs).
More broadly, the EPA's annual report found strong overall environmental enforcement performance by local authorities during 2025, while identifying some areas where improvements are still needed.
Across the country, local authorities employed 668 environmental staff responsible for enforcing more than 10,700 licences, permits and certificates. During the year they carried out more than 252,000 inspections, responded to 85,500 environmental complaints, took 23,550 enforcement actions and initiated 386 prosecutions.
The EPA found that 83% of National Enforcement Priority work met the required standard of strong or excellent, an increase of four percentage points compared with 2024.
The report also found that every local authority met the required standard for tackling illegal waste enforcement.
