HOPES are high that a new pumping station could end almost three decades of raw sewage misery for Shannonvale residents.
Local campaigners have fought long and hard to rid their village park of stinking raw sewage, which has also affected the quality of drinking water in Clonakilty, renaming the village park ‘Uisce Eireann Park’ to highlight their frustration.
A cautious welcome was given to Uisce Eireann’s announcement that it is ‘conceptually aligned on a solution to replace the septic tank with a new pumping station to connect with the Clonakilty waste water treatment facility’.
Jack Hanly of Clean Water Clonakilty told The Southern Star the lobby group is pleased there is progress on the park and that An Garran Estate has been included in Uisce Éireann’s proposal.
But he added: ‘It has taken Uisce Éireann eight years to narrow down options that may never reach implementation phase due to cost, as they had scrapped a similar proposal in 2017.
‘Both Uisce Éireann and Cork County Council need to take financial and environmental responsibility for the mess they have left the people of Shannonvale since 1998.
‘They must end the 28 -year wait for our recreation space and give us certainty that the water we drink isn’t tainted by sewage.’
He said the group will continue to engage with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Uisce Éireann and politicians of ‘all colours and stripes’ until this issue reaches closure. ‘We hope for good news on prioritisation come September,’ he added.
An EPA report from September of last year noted that ‘ponding of effluent’ was observed in the public amenity park. The report added that Uisce Éireann is required to ‘cease the effluent discharge into the public park’.
Cork South West TD Christopher O’Sullivan welcomed latest progress and said the project is in design stage which will inform costings and prioritisation.
There was also good news for Dunmanway town where the waste water plant is operating at full capacity preventing any new housing developments.
The Junior Minister confirmed that Uisce Éireann is ‘actively exploring interim improvements’ to increase the capacity of the existing plant with a solution expected by the end of the year.
Cllr Deirdre Kelly welcomed this development but pointed out that this interim measure was first tabled by the county engineer in 2021.
‘It had been mentioned at every meeting with Uisce Éireann since however it is only now that they are considering it as a viable solution. That said, we need to be positive and hope that this will finally see much development in the town,’ she told The Southern Star.
Upgrades to the waste water treatment system in Crossbarry have also been confirmed by Uisce Éireann, which means the village can expand when it comes to housing infrastructure.
