POLLUTION of the River Ilen which recorded ammonia levels ‘off the charts’ was not reported to the council until eight days later, it’s been claimed.

Cllr Isobel Towse (SD) referenced the incident in May of last year while supporting a motion by Cllr Ronan Sheehan (Lab) who called on the local authority to prevent future pollution incidents such as fish kills in the River Blackwater in North Cork.

She said the local authority should place continuous monitoring units linked up to an alert system at all waste water treatment and industry discharge points and other sensitive locations in rivers so they can catch pollution immediately.

‘There was a massive pollution event in the River Ilen in Skibbereen last May which took place over 12 hours with levels of ammonia literally off the charts, which the council weren’t alerted to until eight days after the event,’ said Cllr Towse.

‘I gather this delay was a hiccup by Uisce Éireann on the reporting side but if the council had their own monitoring and alert systems, we might have known the cause of the spill and have prevented it lasting 12 hours.’

She said there is a ‘chunk of work’ that needs to be done to protect waterways and Cork County Council should up its game in this regard.

‘Water is too precious a resource to not be using the precautionary principle and doing our utmost to protect it.’

Cllr Ronan Sheehan (Lab) said there was a real, genuine and urgent need for change.

‘It is time that Cork County Council takes a firm leading role in defending our rivers and waters. We all know too well about the fish kills in the River Blackwater,’ said Cllr Sheehan.

‘This motion is a call to action not just to fix problems but to change how we approach it. We need a full review of all Section 4 discharge licences issued within the county which is essential.’

He also said they need to benchmark Cork’s current discharge limits against those applied by other local authorities with a view to ensuring Cork adopts the highest protective standards.

‘We need vision and we need innovation and I am asking Cork County Council launch a pilot programme of real time water  quality monitoring beginning with the River Blackwater using new technology like the water sonde that measures water quality for things like nitrates.’

Cllr Ann Bambury (SD) also supported the motion and highlighted the importance of the Bandon River.

‘I feel we have a lot of licences proposed for the river and it’s vital that any big industries uphold their part in preventing water pollution. Our rivers are so valuable and they give us sustainable growth.’

Divisional manager Michael Lynch said that an inter-agency structure was initiated after the fish kill in the River Blackwater and that they must recognise that there other agencies involved in the rivers and they will work them on this.