FED-up locals in Shannonvale in Clonakilty, who have been campaigning for 27 years to get rid of stinking raw sewage from their village park, have renamed their park ‘Uisce Éireann Park’ to highlight their frustration with the public utility firm.
The symbolic gesture to rename the park was made because locals say the park no longer belongs to them, as they haven’t been able to access it for over two decades. The new name even appears on Google Maps as ‘Uisce Éireann Park.’
A recent public meeting held there, which was attended by local TDs and public representatives, heard that they need to get Uisce Éireann to prioritise funding for Shannonvale Park.
Speaking to The Southern Star, Jack Hanly of the Clean Clonakilty Water campaign group said they had some really good feedback from those attending the meeting.
‘We are still at stage 1 for funding for the past six years and we are trying to push this for years with Uisce Éireann. Shannonvale Park was part of the 2014-2016 capital investment plan, which overran into 2017. The project reached Stage 3 but then in December 2017 it was dropped, due to cost concerns, without consultation with residents,’ said Jack.
‘It’s frustrating that we, the residents, aren’t being listened to and we’ve had to engage 50 different ways and still get the same answer. There seems to be no engagement from Uisce Éireann and they even blocked us from attending a meeting Deputy Holly Cairns was having with them.’
Jack said the most annoying thing in the process is that they are not on any funding plan and that it is vital that Shannonvale be included on Uisce Éireann’s strategic investment plan for 2025-2029.
‘We are not on the Small Towns and Villages programme either, and it is also important that the EPA put us on the priority list as we know the septic tank is under investigation. Uisce Éireann also claims that the park isn’t technically a park.’
Residents have decided to publish an open letter, signed by all TDs, local councillors and local organisations, in both local and national press to highlight the ongoing stalemate with their village.
‘If they don’t put us on the funding plan for 2025-2029, then we will have to wait another five years until 2030 and that’s simply not good enough,’ he added.
Cork South West TD and Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns, who attended the meeting, said Uisce Éireann must include Shannonvale in their next five-year plan as residents can’t accept another decade of waiting. She said the issue of sewage and smells in the area has dogged residents for years.
‘The residents are sick and tired of having to constantly campaign on this issue with no results. For two decades now the community’s green space has been unusable and stinking of raw sewage, and the EPA has stated that the drinking water supply is at risk of contamination.’
She said it is essential that Shannonvale is included on Uisce Éireann’s strategic investment plan for 2025-2029.
‘It’s disgraceful that Shannonvale has been ignored for this long,’ she said.
Cork South West Independent TD Michael Collins, who was also at the meeting, recently raised the issue in the Dáil again and highlighted the residents’ 27-year battle to get their park fully functioning.
‘They are exasperated and there’s raw sewage seeping into the water treatment plant and into the Argideen River. It’s an astonishing situation, and the play area is blocked off. No one is accountable,’ said Deputy Collins.
A spokesperson for Uisce Éireann said they are progressing a strategic assessment to identify the best long-term solution for Shannonvale.
‘A terrace of nine houses is served by a septic tank and percolation area, both of which pre-date Uisce Éireann. The treated effluent from the septic tank discharges to ground via a percolation area.’
They said the tank has been inspected and performance of the tank is monitored frequently by Uisce Éireann’s operation team and periodic desludging is arranged as required.
‘There is, however, a problem with the performance of the percolation area, which is unable to disperse effluent into the ground quickly enough under certain conditions.’
The spokesperson said the strategic assessment will continue during 2024 before progressing to the Stage 2 preliminary business case.
‘Once the Stage 2 assessment for a project is complete, further updates on the budget and timeline for delivery will be available.’
Ammonia spikes caused 41 plant shutdowns in four-year period
THERE have been 41 automatic shutdowns at the Jones Bridge water treatment plant in Clonakilty from ammonia spikes, since the start of 2020, according to the Clean Water Clonakilty campaign group.
The alarming fi gure was obtained following a freedom of information request from the campaign group to Uisce Éireann. The group believes that the overflowing sewage issue at Shannonvale Park, a mile upstream from the treatment plant, is contributing to this.
Records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act from Uisce Éireann show that ammonia shutdowns at Jones Bridge occurred three times for the month of January 2020 and continued for the next four years at various intervals. Th is year alone there were three shutdowns – on January 20th, January 31st, and on February 23rd – while there were eight shutdowns in 2023, and nine in 2022.
Speaking to The Southern Star, Jack Hanly of Clean Water Clonakilty said it is important that the people of Clonakilty know how many times this has occurred at the Jones Bridge treatment plant.
‘The treatment plant automatically shutdowns if it hits a certain level of ammonia and we are trying to get more information on how long each time it was shut down for,’ said Jack.
‘We believe that the sewage here in Shannonvale Park is contributing to this problem, but we are not sure Uisce Éireann believe this to be the case.’
He added that the group has put in further freedom of information requests on the issue which will take time to receive.
Their aim is to get Shannonvale Park on the next funding plan by Uisce Éireann to finally resolve the ongoing issue of sewage in their village park.
