from yestedays indo
Bungalow blitz 'is causing traffic problems'
IRELAND'S preoccupation with home ownership is damaging the landscape and causing traffic congestion, along with other environmental problems.
As many as four-in-ten houses built in the countryside are of the controversial one-off variety. The average three-person household generates 1m tonnes of rubbish each year, the EPA report said.
The report sys one-off housing is "generally unsustainable". Yesterday the EPA admitted that local authorities were not monitoring an estimated 400,000 septic tanks. These serve one-third of the population to ensure they were safe and not polluting the countryside.
These tanks treat more than 50m gallons of effluent from 1.2m people every day, and pose a high risk to groundwater if not property installed and maintained.
It is estimated that between 30-50pc of all rural wells are polluted with some form of faecal bacteria, mainly stemming from sewage effluent and agricultural waste.
A recent EPA study found faecal coliforms in 257 groundwater samples from 676 taken.
Almost two-thirds of Irish households are connected to municipal wastewater treatment plants, and between 2000 and 2001 23pc of all wastewater went untreated, with 41pc receiving only primary treatment.
However this figure has since risen to 73pc of all wastewater being treated following the opening of new treatment plants.
Stand-alone houses also increased road and transport costs, and resulted in a "negative impact" on the fabric of towns.
Socially they were unsustainable regarding access to schools, hospitals and other essential services.
Although the pressures placed on the environment by individual households appear minor in comparison with the impacts from industrial and public sectors, the report notes that when considered as a sector the impact is "significant".
Pressures on energy and water consumption, waste and wastewater generation and emissions to air and water pose potential problems, along with the use of land and natural resources.
Increased use of the car for commuting, and our reliance on fossil fuels for energy, is a "major contributor" to the level of greenhouse gases generated.
Sustainable Energy Ireland notes that households are responsible for 30pc of Ireland's carbon dioxide emissions, and that Ireland is among 10 of 15 EU countries that are not on target to meet Kyoto targets on harmful emissions.
With Irish weather conditions, a 1MW wind turbine could provide enough energy to power 650 homes.
Of all key economic sectors households show the least eco-efficiency, the report notes. Waste generation and private vehicle numbers have risen considerably faster than the rate of increase in population.