BY JACKIE KEOGH
THE discharge of treated wastewater into a special area of conservation in Dunmanway needs to be addressed urgently, according to independent Cllr Declan Hurley.
He warned that development in the town would at a ‘standstill’ over the issue, with no planning application or connections approved until the issue is rectified.
The town’s wastewater treatment has a licence to discharge water into the Bandon River but because the discharge pipe is located in a special area of conservation (SAC), the plant is in breach of its discharge licence.
To rectify the problem, the discharge pipe will need to be extended by 50m so the outflow would be upstream of the SAC, which is home to a protected species of freshwater pearl mussel.
Representatives from Uisce Éireann met with Cllr Hurley, Cllr Deirdre Kelly (FF), and Cllr Joe Carroll (FF), as well as council executives and community representatives. ‘They said the solution would be to extend the outflow pipe 50m to a nearby tributary, which is known locally as the Brewery River,’ said Cllr Hurley.
In raising the issue at a meeting of the Municipal District, Cllr Hurley called for a face-to-face meeting with representatives from Uisce Éireann’s asset strategy section. ‘We need this to be listed as a priority in Uisce Éireann’s capital programme of works 2024-2028,’ he said.
After the meeting, Fianna Fáil TD Christopher O’Sullivan told The Southern Star he had arranged a meeting with Uisce Éireann’s regional manager for Cork, Ian O’Mahony for Friday December 8th.
If the 50m extension is provided, Cllr Hurley said the SAC water quality readings would no longer be in breach of the plant’s discharge licence. The extension would also mean that the town’s wastewater treatment plant could take additional capacity.
Failure to extend it would, however, mean that no new planning application or connections will be considered, or approved. ‘Effectively, the future growth and development of Dunmanway town has been put on hold until this problem is rectified,’ said Cllr Hurley.
‘We are at the height of a housing crisis yet we are being told no new houses can be built in Dunmanway, and that no new businesses, which require a new wastewater connection, can be set up or relocated to the town,’ he added.
‘Development is currently at a standstill in Dunmanway,’ he concluded. ‘And it could lead to a slow death of the town.’
Cllr Deirdre Kelly (FF) expressed the hope that the project could be prioritised .
