Fifth of Co Cork waterways may be polluted, report claims
There are 492 rivers and streams in the county and 94 of these have been identified as being of “less than satisfactory quality”, under the terms of the South Western River Basin District Management Plan.
According to Sharon Corcoran, head of the Environment Directorate, a review showed that 57 of the 94 rivers and streams may have been “impacted by agricultural activity”.
Ms Corcoran said so far this year five farms were identified as being in “serious non-compliance” with the law with a high risk of causing water pollution.
Their owners have been sent warning letters under the European Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2010.
She said that further investigation was required to establish who was polluting a number of streams and rivers.
In a report delivered to councillors, Ms Corcoran said many of the rivers and streams in these cases flowed through large catchment areas and in many cases the source of the water problem may actually be confined to a relatively small area.
The council’s agriculture section has trained three staff to carry out a more in-depth assessment under the Small Stream Risk Score (SSRS).
This is a simple method which can be used to identify pollution hot spots. It’s an assessment of the insect life found in streams, which gives a reliable indication of long-term water quality.
The three staff have carried out 146 SSRS assessments on 44 rivers and streams so far this year.
Meanwhile, Ms Corcoran said the county council had received 484 complaints from the public so far this year about littering, noise pollution and illegal burning of materials.
Illegally dumped waste topped the list with 263 calls.
There were 68 complaints about agricultural practices, especially in relation to water contamination.
In total, there were 14 complaints about noise pollution and a further 11 over air pollution.
Ms Corcoran has also promised to inquire into complaints made by some councillors about dead animal collections.
Cllr Jerry Sullivan, in particular, said that open lorries were being used to take away carcasses, some of which had been dead for up to a week and the stink from them was unacceptable.
