Waste Water

Cork County Council's Waste Water function is based at the Council offices at Inniscarra Waterworks, County Cork. The Waste Water Laboratory was established in 1978, and implements the provisions of the Water Pollution Acts and the Waste Water Regulations, 2001, as outlined in the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992  . The laboratory currently employs 3.5 staff. It has NAB Accreditation status since 1991. The key activities of the Waste Water Laboratory include:

• Industrial inspections; monitoring, sampling and analysis of municipal sewage treatment plans and outfalls.
• Compilation of urban waste water returns to the EPA.
• Licensing of discharges to waters and sewers.
• Dealing with public complaints/incident responses.
• Provision of Freedom of Information Act data.
• Evaluation of submitted industrial monitoring data.
• Monitoring/enforcement of planning conditions and waste permits.
• Preparation of test reports, annual report and complaint investigation reports.
• Preparation of evidence of criminal and civil proceedings, oral hearings and attendance as expert witnesses.
• Maintenance of the ISO 17025 Quality System.
• Carrying out garage inspections.