Irish Water investigating after overloading of Mitchelstown's sewerage treatment plant
Irish Water is investigating who is responsible for pumping excess fluids into a Cork town's sewerage treatment system.
County engineer Kevin Morey told councillors that Irish Water's special investigations department was trying to track the culprit or culprits who were overloading the treatment plant in Mitchelstown. He said it was a "significant issue" and having an impact on the treatment plant's capacity.
Mr Morey said he had been told that when the issue was dealt with it would "make a significant impact on the capacity the plant could handle."
"There are a lot of unknowns coming into the system," Mr Morey added.
Cllr June Murphy asked if councillors would be able to see the results of the investigation. She asked if they could expect court proceedings if the culprit or culprits were identified.
Mr Morey said there was a potential for Irish Water to take legal action, but added he wasn't aware of it doing so in the past.
The county engineer said he had heard of cases in other towns where businesses were given licences to discharge waste into sewerage systems but in some cases they didn't comply with the licence restrictions by either discharging more than the permitted level or by discharging waste which wasn't allowed.
A number of councillors said that this needed to be addressed quickly as further development in the Mitchelstown area was being held up because there wasn't enough capacity at the sewerage treatment plant.
Cllr Deirdre O'Brien said there were a number of "shovel ready" developments waiting to go which were being held up.
Cllr Kay Dawson pointed out that the town badly needed a new and larger treatment plant to cope with future demand. The council is planning to build one.
Mr Morey said Irish Water officials were conscious of new developments in the pipeline. Council engineers said the Mitchelstown project had been "bundled in" with treatment plant and network upgrades in Ballycotton, Castletownbere, Castletownsend, Whitegate/Aghada and Inchigeelagh.
They said a contractor appointed to the Mitchelstown project had completed most of the site investigation works for the new treatment plant and some land would have to be acquired through Compulsory Purchase Orders for it. They said detailed design for the project was still ongoing.
Meanwhile, engineers revealed they intend to carry out a major project in Mallow separating storm drains from the town's sewerage system. It is hoped to start construction next winter and complete in two years.
