Water report sounds alarm bells — again

The Environmental Protection Agency’s report that 38 of the Republic’s largest sewage treatment plants are defective will cause a flurry of concern but it is unlikely to lead to the kind of immediate response this dangerous, health-threatening situation demands.

It might be suggested that this is a resources issue, but this recklessness is as much a consequence of cultural indifference — ignorance might be a better description — possible only because we do not demand better of our politicians, our public services or ourselves.

The situation could hardly prevail if we were responsible; it could hardly continue if we understood the consequences of a compromised, unhealthy water supply. Can that, despite decades of growing awareness around environmental issues and our collective responsibility, really be the case?