From a correspondent-
Absence of a proper sewage treatment plant and disposal facility in Claregalway or any evidence of actions to deliver same is a matter of major import. It is now 18 months since Ryan Hanly published their report on flooding on the Clare river. In particular, in Section 6.4.1. on Human Health they state:
“The location of properties subject to flooding and flood risk are shown on the flood maps.
“However, there is also a significant human health risk of these areas relating to contamination of the flood waters with foul sewage from septic tanks and other foul water disposal systems in areas subject to flooding. This is particularly relevant in the Claregalway Town area where numerous housing and commercial developments are served by package waterwaste treatment plants. A number of these were flooded during the flood events of December 2006 and November 2009 flood events resulting in untreated foul water mixing with flood waters discharged to Lower Lough Corrib. The wastewater treatment plant for the housing estates in the Lakeview area is located in the field adjacent to the river bank on the upstream side of the Bridge. This plant was completely inundated during the November 2009 event and also during flood events of smaller magnitude such as the December 2006 flood”.
“A major drinking water abstraction (55,000m³/day) is located off the River Corrib in Galway City downstream of Lower Lough Corrib into which the River Clare flows. Because of the proximity of the inflowing Clare River and the outflowing Corrib River channels at the southerly end of the lower Lake, the risk of short-circuiting of flood flows from the Clare to the Corrib channels is heightened. Subsequent to the increased incidence of cryptosporidiosis in the Galway City drinking water supply in 2007, epidemiological investigations and the genotyping of Cryptosporidium revealed that the majority of recorded cases were caused consequent to contamination by faecal material of human origin. The risk of faecal contamination of drinking water supplies is exacerbated by the continued inundation of foul sewage treatment systems associated with development with the Study Area”.
It is many years now since the public sewage scheme for Claregalway was first announced with much fanfare and thanking from the usual sources. But the problems remain due to no delivery.
