Concern over spillage into Ballina river
A spillage of effluent from Irish Water's Waste Water Treatment plant in Ballina into a local river has been sharply criticised by local anglers and politicians.
Paul Hanly, the Chairman of the Killaloe Ballina and District Anglers Association, said the water of the Mill River had turned extremely "cloudy" during the spillage last week and that it was therefore impossible to establish if fish had been killed in the incident. Mr Hanly said the effluent flowed down the river and entered the River Shannon.
He said that the effluent entered the Shannon approximately 1.5 kilometres away from where Irish Water intended to extract water from the river to supply Dublin and the greater east and midland regions.
"I wonder would they drink a cup of that today in Dublin," asked Mr Hanly, who was speaking to this newspaper last Thursday, the day after the spillage was reported.
VIDEO OF SPILLAGE
Mr Hanly said a new waste water treatment plant was badly need in Ballina-Killaloe.
He said a video taken of the spillage uploaded by club members on social media had been viewed over 25,000 times just a day after the incident.
This river, also known as the Grange River, became the focus of attention just last May when a spillage of effluent from a separate source caused outrage among anglers and the local community.
This is not the first time that a spillage of effleunt into the river has occurred from Irish Water's waste water treatment plant.
COMPANY FINED
In February 2019 the company was ordered to pay €4,790 in a fine and costs by Judge Patrick Durkan at Killaloe District Court after the court was told that around 100 fish were killed, including some brown trout and juvenile salmon, following a spillage that occured from the plant in May 2018. Local TD and leader of the Labour Party Alan Kelly said the latest spillage was a continuation of previous problems with the treatment plant.
"It is disgraceful that pollution is allowed into the River Shannon. We know historically that this plant is not up to specifications and this pollution of a high amenity area will continue unless the necessary upgrade of that plant takes place."
Mr Kelly said he would put presssure on the Minister for Environment to try to ensure that the upgrade takes place as a matter of priority and is not put on "the back burner". Deputy Kelly added: "It is obvious the plant can't deal with the effluent going into it and that in turn is having an impact on fish stocks and the bathing and boating amenities of Ballina-Killaloe which, as a major tourism area, is now the focus of this very unwelcome news."
ANGRY ANGLERS
Meanwhile, local Fine Gael councillor Phyll Bugler said local anglers were extremely angry over the latest spillage from the plant. "It is my understanding from council staff that a chemical entered the Ballina waste water treatment plant which caused the aeration tank to malfunction. This chemical could have come from Killaloe or Ballina. The council are still inspecting graphs at the waste water treatment plant to determine the source of this chemical."
Councillor Bugler added that anglers were calling for the treatment plant to be upgraded "as a matter of urgency". She said anglers had pointed out to her that the Mill Stream is a spawing ground for trout and salmon and that there should be no pipes discharging from the waste water treatment plant into the stream. Councillor Bugler said that while there was no evidence of a fish kill, the discharge would further reduce the quality of water in Shannon.
"Discharges and pollution of this nature not only affect the fishing industry but also the swimming, boating, kayaking, sailing and tourism products at Ballina-Killaloe," stated Councillor Bugler.
Local Green Party member David Ahern said he would ensure that problems with the treatment plant would be conveyed to his party at the highest level. "The whole idea of us entering government is to stop these practices throughout the country along with improving biodiversity," said Mr Ahern.
INVESTIGATIONS TAKING PLACE
Tipperary Councy Council said investigations were taking place into the root cause of the spillage. Irish Water in a statement issued to this newspaper on Monday stated: "Irish Water and Tipperary County Council are aware of an incident at the Ballina Wastewater Treatment Plant where a cloudy discharge was visible in the river for a period of time on Thursday, July 2nd. We are investigating the cause of this issue at present and all the appropriate agencies, including the EPA and Inland Fisheries Ireland, have been notified.
"Initial indications are that the treatment plant is operating as normal, with no pump failures or issues within the treatment process identified.
"Further sampling taken over subsequent days indicates that the quality of the discharge has improved, but we are continuing to monitor the quality of the water at and around the discharge point.
"We understand this may cause concern for users of the river and we would like to assure the local community that we are working as a matter of priority to identify the cause and prevent any further non-compliant discharges."
Irish Water stated that plans to upgrade the treatment plant are progressing, with a planning applications scheduled to be submitted by early 2021. The programmed completion date for this project is 2024. 　
Elsewhere, dismay was expressed by councillors of the Nenagh Municipal District at their June meeting on hearing that it could be 2024 before the treatment plant in Ballina was upgraded.
Inland Fisheries Ireland in a statement issued to The Nenagh Guardian on Tuesday stated: "Following a report from Irish Water, Inland Fisheries Ireland attended Ballina Waste Water Treatment plant last Thursday. Investigations indicated no fish kill had occurred with live trout observed above the discharge in the river and in the Shannon at the confluence.
"IFI are concerned at the poor quality effluent and are liaising with Irish Water who have responsibility for the management of the plant and the EPA who are responsible for the enforcement of licence conditions."