Community in Offaly concerned that wastewater plant is polluting local river
Community in Offaly concerned that wastewater plant is polluting local river
THE Kilcormac Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) is polluting the town's river, according to a recently published report, an issue which many locals are very concerned about.
“A Study of the Silver River” was commissioned by the local Angling Club and it was researched and written by ecologist Rory Dalton of Ecology Research and Solutions, Killarney.
The report includes a letter sent by Rory to the Irish Water Head Office in Dublin, which was an “official complaint on behalf of the community”.
The WWTP is non-compliant with its discharge licence. An examination of the Plant's outfall during medium to high flows shows that the effluent is “having an impact on the river”.
The water coming from the outfall has a grey tinge and there are high levels of algae, indicated enriched conditions. During medium to high flows there is also a smell from the outfall.
If Uisce Éireann / Irish Water fail to deal with this discharge problem then the locals want a number of surveys to be carried out on the river in order to build up their case.
The studies, if carried out, will examine the levels of Phosphates, Nitrates and Algae, both upstream and downstream of the discharge point. All surveying would be carried out in low flow conditions and warm sunny weather when the river's pressures become most apparent and when most of the damage is done ecologically.