Raw sewage still entering Bantry's bay

BANTRY may have a new wastewater treatment facility, but there is still raw sewage going into the harbour near Bantry House.

That’s according to county mayor Cllr Patrick Gerard Murphy (FF) who described the situation at a meeting of the Western Committee as ‘regrettable.’

Both Cllr Murphy and Cllr Mary Hegarty (FG) said they had been advised that the situation would be resolved when a major project to repair and replace parts of the old town drainage system is being carried out, although the Council has no idea when this will happen.

The area where the sewage enters the harbour is known as the ‘bathing box’ and is alongside the N71 on the entrance road into town.

‘We know it will be resolved, but we can’t say when,’ said the county mayor. ‘It’s like everything with Irish Water – it is being put on the long finger.’

The county engineer and director of services for water, Kevin Morey, acknowledged that the Department of the Environment is concerned about the stability of the road structure, particularly at Wolfe Tone Square.

He also said that Irish Water is concerned about the condition of the water within the drain system.

He added that the Office of Public Works is also a player in the drive for a new culvert, or drain system, in Bantry and the OPW wants to be assured that the new system would have the capacity to deal with the volume of water in a flood situation.

The director of services said all of the ‘players’ would be meeting in a week, or two, to discuss how the project is going to be managed.