Raw sewage flowing into sea at Crosshaven ‘unacceptable’  

Sewage is still discharged directly into the sea at Crosshaven, which has been described as totally unacceptable. Picture: Eddie O’Hare

There is a major need for an extension of the Cork lower harbour mains sewerage network to include houses in part of the picturesque Crosshaven area where sewage is still discharged directly into the sea.

A meeting of the Carrigaline Municipal District Council, which administers Crosshaven, heard it’s totally unacceptable that this is continuing to happen, especially as it is the area is a magnet for tourists.

Fine Gael Councillor Michael Paul Murtagh won support from colleagues when he requested that they write to the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage for funding to facilitate the extension of wastewater and sewerage mains to Point Road, Crosshaven.

Millions of euro are being spent on a major upgrade of the sewage treatment system in the lower harbour, but there are still a number of properties in several areas not connected to it.

Funding

Mr Murtagh maintained the department should provide funding through a multi-annual rural water programme for extensions to wastewater collection systems in areas that are prioritised for environmental protection, such as Crosshaven. He said,

“With nesting curlew among a range of protected species in the vicinity of the Point Road, it should come under consideration for this funding. It’s not good enough that raw sewage is going into the sea from there." 

“To hear somebody flush their toilet and then see it flow down into the sea is not good enough,” Fianna Fáil councillor Audrey Buckley said.

“Something needs to happen here badly (to rectify the situation), it has been going on for a number of years. We all agree it’s not acceptable to see raw sewage going into the area when the main parts of the harbour are covered with the new sewerage scheme,” Fianna Fáil Councillor Seamus McGrath said.

Fine Gael Councillor Jack White maintained connecting the area to the main sewerage treatment system “is important from a visual point of view, an environmental point of view and from a residents point of view.”

Municipal district council officials said the council’s environment directorate is looking at the issue and examining possible funding streams which could be used to connect up the area.

They said they hope to supply local councillors with information on that at their February municipal meeting.