CORK County Council’s director of environment has called on the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to ‘get its act together’ and oversee wastewater treatment in Rosscarbery.
Mr Louis Duffy made the comment at a recent meeting of the western committee after Cllr Isobel Towse (SD) raised questions about the village’s septic tank system.
She said the treatment plant at Rosscarbery needs to be desludged more often, following two incidents last summer which led to the bacterial contamination of Rosscarbery Bay.
Cllr Towse said Uisce Éireann blamed agricultural run-off for the high bacteria levels, which subsequently led Cork County Council to issue no-swim notices.
‘Can we be told what type of pollution is causing the problem, and what is the source?’ asked Cllr Towse.
She said she was asking this because UCC scientists told her it should be possible to differentiate between the types of pollution.
According to Mr Duffy, it should be possible to tell the difference. ‘As for whether it is human or animal, you are getting a mix,’ he said.
‘Some of the time it is from agriculture; and if the tank overflows the evidence of that is clear.
‘The key thing is to replace the plant and ensure that the plant is maintained,’ said the environment director.
Mr Duffy went on to say the EPA is the oversight body for Uisce Éireann (UE) and it hasn’t taken UE on to make repairs.
‘The EPA needs to get its act together and get on with it.’
He also said he hoped that there will be an increase in desludging the wastewater treatment plant in Rosscarbery. ‘If we can get another desludging it would reduce the risk,’ Mr Duffy concluded.
The Southern Star approached the EPA for comment.
