No joy for Dunmanway developments says Irish Water

UISCE Éireann – formerly Irish Water – has confirmed that a proposal to relocate the discharge pipe from Dunmanway’s wastewater treatment plant 50m will not resolve a problem that has led to planning applications being refused in the town.

Moving the discharge location of Dunmanway wastewater treatment plant by 50m will not result in the discharge being compliant with an EU discharge directive, a spokesperson for Uisce Éireann told The Southern Star.

‘To consistently comply with [the directives], upgrades to some of the wastewater treatment process units will be required,’ he said.

At two meetings with Uisce Éireann representatives in Dunmanway, in early December, the possibility of moving the discharge point away from a special area of conservation to a nearby tributary of the Bandon River was discussed. However, at a third meeting, before Christmas, Uisce Éireann ruled it out, saying it was not an acceptable solution for environmental and licensing reasons.

The pre-Christmas meeting was attended by Noel O’Donovan, who is standing in the Skibbereen area as a Fine Gael candidate, as well as members of a local action group formed by Dunmanway Chamber of Commerce.

Mr O’Donovan said Uisce Éireann gave them an assurance that the issues at the treatment plant – which is just 10 years old – are firmly on their agenda. He said Uisce Éireann gave an undertaking to liaise with Cork County Council, and to assess the plant to see if minor works could be carried out in the short-term.

Mr O’Donovan suggested that these short-term measures could improve the water quality discharge from the plant and bring them in line with new EU regulations. He added that Uisce Eireann also said the Dunmanway plant would be included in a priority list for a series of further studies in the coming years.

But local Cllr Declan Hurley (Ind) said ‘studies’ would not help in the short-term. Building firms, ready to meet the demand for new homes, are being frustrated by the need for a better treatment plant, he said.

Cllr Hurley said that if the problem takes five or 10 years, Dunmanway will be left without residential or commercial developments for the best part of a decade. Cllr Hurley said he would continue to highlight the problem until action is taken to resolve it.