Car will finally be removed from Drinagh lake

A WEST Cork senator has said that he is delighted that ‘common sense has prevailed’ and that a car submerged underwater at Curraghalicky Lake near Drinagh is to be finally removed.

Earlier this year, Fine Gael Senator Tim Lombard raised the issue about the car being in the lake for over a year and what damage it could cause to the water quality. 

It entered the lake last May following a tragic incident where a man lost his life. However, neither Cork County Council nor Uisce Éireann were willing to take responsibility for removing it until now.

Sen Lombard told The Southern Star that he was told by Uisce Éireann officials last week that the environment section of Cork County Council plan to extract the vehicle currently underwater at Curraghalicky Lake.

However, it has now emerged that the matter has been taken out of their hands and that the insurance company is going to recover the car.

No date has been confirmed for the car’s removal, but the company has given a provisional schedule for some time this week.

‘I am delighted to see that finally common sense has prevailed and that action will be taken by the insurance company to remove the car,’ said Sen Lombard. However, he was critical of both bodies and said it was a classic example of ‘passing the buck’ as the Council had said to direct queries on this to Uisce Éireann, while Uisce Éireann said they were not responsible for the lake. ‘Surely, we should have been proactive in removing the car almost immediately after the incident, rather than waiting for a problem to arise and then having to be reactive and remove it, at an almost greater cost.’

Sen Lombard was told by Uisce Éireann officials that the Drinagh water supply is comprehensively monitored for compliance with the drinking water regulations and any non-compliances are reported to the EPA. ‘The unfortunate incident has not to date generated any parametric  non-compliance (including hydrocarbons) and the supply will continue to be monitored for legislative compliance,’ said the water utility.

A monitor was installed last year at the lake which would automatically shut down the water supply from should any pollution issues be detected, Sen Lombard was told.