Uisce Éireann has failed to meet more than half of its targets for delivering drinking water and wastewater services to customers, according to the latest annual assessment of its performance by the industry regulator.
The Commission for the Regulation of Utilities has expressed concern at the “level of underachievement” by Uisce Éireann in its progress towards meeting a range of targets by 2024.
A new report by the CRU found Uisce Éireann – previously known as Irish Water – met only nine out of 19 targets in 2021.
“While some areas have observed improvements and targets have been met, there are metrics where targets have not been met and the gap that remains against targets set is of concern,” the CRU said.
In particular, the regulator highlighted the large number of urban areas with no wastewater treatment as well as the number of both once-off and recurring incidents in relation to wastewater.
However, Uisce Éireann said it had been set “challenging and stretching targets”, some of which it claimed were “unattainable due to known constraints.”
According to the company, they included the early stage of its development, the absence of full operational control and continuing limitations on funding as well as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The latest annual performance assessment report of Uisce Éireann for 2021 showed it met its targets in relation to most drinking water standards, while the company reduced the level of leakage.
It is estimated that leakage was reduced by 79 million litres per day during 2021, although 637 million litres are still lost in the network daily.
However, the report revealed there were 33 towns and cities where sewage was being discharged untreated against a target of zero.
The CRU said the company had set an annual target of providing treatment to four areas during 2021 which would have resulted in 31 sites continuing to discharge untreated wastewater.
The regulator said it was concerned at consistent delays in providing wastewater treatment in the remaining areas as Uisce Éireann no longer plans to provide treatment at the remaining 33 sites before the end of 2024.
The report showed that Uisce Éireann recorded 1,108 single incidents relating to wastewater in 2021 – almost double the target of a maximum of 585.
In addition, 249 incidents of recurring problems with wastewater were reported compared to the targets of a maximum of 170.
The CRU also criticised Uisce Éireann for its failure to provide data on sewer incidents as well as over delays on reporting on security of supply.
While the regulator acknowledged improvements in the quality of water supply, it said it shared the concerns of the Environmental Protection Agency about progress by Uisce Éireann in eliminating the overall amount of lead pipework in the network.
The CRU also expressed concern at a drop in Uisce Éireann’s customer service performance including in relation to handling complaints, restoring supplies after unplanned interruptions and lifting boil water notices or drinking water restriction notices within 30 days.
The regulator said it was particularly concerned at the drop because of the company’s ability to maintain its performance between 2019 and 2020 despite the initial challenges and uncertainties presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The CRU said it was not satisfied with the reasons provided by Uisce Éireann for its worsening performance.
The report showed the utility fell significantly short of meeting its targets for resolving both operation and billing issues on the first call from customers.
Uisce Éireann claimed it was due to a trend of customers only calling to resolve more complex queries with more straightforward queries often being resolved through dedicated online channels.
The report also revealed that Uisce Éireann delivered its lowest five-day response rate to customer complaints since such figures were first reported in 2018.
The report shows 6% of domestic customers and 10% of business customers did not have their complaints responded to with a resolution or proposed resolution plan within five days in 2021.
The CRU said it was concerned at the company’s declining performance in relation to customer service given the substantial decrease in the number of complaints received from customers from 9,000 in 2020 to 6,500 in 2021 as well as over how it classified complaints.
It said it no longer considered that Uisce Éireann was on track to meet the target of answering 85% of calls from customers within 20 seconds by 2024 after a drop of six percentage points in 2021 to 76%.
The report also showed that only 85% of customers received at least one bill based on a meter reading during 2021 compared to the target of 100%.
The performance of Uisce Éireann is assessed under its allowed expenditure of over €8 billion for the period 2020-2024, past performance and the performance of other water companies in a similar timeframe.
The regulator added: “The CRU would therefore expect Uisce Éireann to meet or get close to the targets set.”
However, it acknowledged that the targets, while fair and appropriate, were only decided in August 2021 which meant Uisce Éireann was not in a position to put in place all improvements that year.
The CRU said its role was to protect the interests of customers and to ensure the delivery of water services in a safe, secure and sustainable manner as well as ensuring that Uisce Éireann operates in an economic and efficient manner.
