Shannonvale sewage spills outrageous, say councillors

BY JACKIE KEOGH

RESIDENTS of Shannonvale in Clonakilty having to put up with sewage on their community green is outrageous, Cllr Joe Carroll (FF) told a meeting of Cork County Council’s western divisional committee.

It was noted that the issue has been reported many times in The Southern Star, and that the stinking substance leeches into the Argideen River, close to the intake pipe for Clonakilty’s drinking water supply scheme.

Now there’s a problem with the smell of sewage in the bay, according to Cllr Paul Hayes (Ind). Cllr Hayes claimed Uisce Éireann is ‘kicking the ball back to the Council’ saying the local authority is responsible for monitoring Clonakilty’s waste water treatment plant.

‘We were at an Irish Water seminar in Killarney about six years ago and after speaking to two or three officials, I thought they were going to fix the problem in Shannonvale the week after,’ said Cllr Carroll.

Residents in Shannonvale have been complaining about the leaking sewage system for 26 years.

A local man, Barry O’Mahony, is so frustrated with officialdom he has pledged to stand for election in June 2024 to see if he can get the problem fixed.

Cllr Hayes said he has been ‘toing and froing’ with Uisce Éireann but claimed no one seems to care that the polluted Argideen River supplies Clonakilty’s drinking water.

Acting county engineer Liam Ahearn informed the members of the western divisional committee meeting that Uisce Éireann is now responsible for all waste water matters.

‘Cork County Council is no longer involved in water services officially and that’s a significant change, so the odour is a matter for Uisce Éireann,’ he added.

The engineer said Uisce Éireann is reviewing its system for communicating with councillors and he said he hoped they could discuss the four options being considered to resolve the problem at Shannonvale.

The divisional manager told the councillors that the local authority is in a position of transition but it would reach out to Uisce Éireann in relation to both matters.