Outrage as local councillor says Tipperary river is 'practically dead'

The River Suir in Thurles is “practically dead” according to one local councillor.

Speaking at the meeting of the Tipperary County Council last week, Cllr Jim Ryan spoke on the condition of the Suir flowing through Thurles, stating that drastic action needs to be taken quickly to reverse the condition the river is heading in.

The meeting was attended by Dr Matthew Crowe, the chair of An Fóram Uisce – the Water Forum

Cllr Ryan said to the Forum: "I have yet to see a report from yourselves on the River Suir in Thurles. Why is that the case? Do ye have an opinion? Are ye allowed to have an option?"

Saying that Uisce Éireann were fined last year for discharges from the Holycross Wastewater Treatment Plant, Cllr Ryan said that furthermore, raw sewage was being discharged into the River Suir behind the shopping centre during periods of flooding.

Speaking with the Tipperary Star after the meeting, Cllr Ryan said that some irreversible damage has been done to the river, and that action must be taken quickly to ensure more does not happen.

“The river is dead in my opinion, and we’re kind of facing the prospect of it never returning to life again due to the constant lack of action being taken by the relevant bodies, Uisce Éireann and the Tipperary County Council.

“In relation to the cleaning of the river in Thurles, it’s full of rubbish, there’s raw sewage being pumped into it because of the pipe system in Thurles, which means that any time it rains heavy, both rainwater and raw sewage is pumped into the River Suir in Thurles by the pumping station at the back of the shopping centre, and this is a pumping station in the ownership of Irish Water.

There’s no fish life, there’s no wildlife, you hardly ever see swans or ducks or any other wildlife or bird life in the river anymore, and it’s completely overgrown with vegetation, so unfortunately over the last number of years, it’s been totally neglected. It’s becoming an embarrassment for Thurles, it’s running through the heart of the town, and yet the relevant bodies, such as Irish Water, such as OPW, such as Inland Fisheries, and Tipperary County Council have left that river run to the state that it is at the moment, so, it’s just not acceptable, the people of Thurles are fed up of it, and we want it back to where it was before.”

“We’d all like to see it back to the way it was back in the 80s, 90s, early 2000s when it was in pristine condition. People were swimming in it, people were fishing, people were using canoes on the river in Thurles, and it was a really positive focal point running through the heart of the town.

“Now it’s a complete and utter disgrace, an embarrassment for Thurles, but the only way we’re going to get it back to the way it was is, in my opinion, to remove the complete overgrowth of the vegetation, we need the river to be cleaned, to at least be dredged, and a full investigation needs to be carried out on all the pipes that are currently running along the river bank in Thurles, and discover what they are emitting into the River Suir in Thurles. I’m sure it’s not good for the river, I’m sure it’s not good for pollution.”

With regards to the work carried out by Uisce Éireann in the area, Cllr Ryan said: “They need to be tracked and monitored, and see are they causing pollution in the river in Thurles. So there’s a lot of work to be done, but because of complete and utter neglect, over the last number of years, it is going to cost an awful lot of money, it’s going to take an awful lot of effort and man power to get it back to the way it was. So I am calling on the relevant bodies to do that sooner rather than later, before it’s too late.”

Speaking on the matter of raw sewage being pumped into the water, Cllr Ryan said: “It happened last year, the new water treatment plant in Holycross, where there was millions spent on it, and last year, the EPA fined Irish Water because it was emitting substances into the River Suir in excess of the permitted levels. But that treatment plant in Holycross is actually causing pollution to the river.

“So I called on the relevant bodies, but I’ve also looked to the EPA to do something about this because, as a Thurles resident, I’m just not going to sit back and accept the pollution of our river here in Thurles, and as someone who grew up on Cathedral Street right beside the river in Thurles, and someone who now lives beside the River Suir out the Mill Road in Thurles, I take great pride in the river.”