Cork town to get badly needed new houses after upgrade of waste water treatment facility

Development was welcomed by local councillors who said that, for several years, building had been held up in Mitchelstown due to the issue. Picture: Maurice O'Mahony

After years of stagnation, a Cork town will be able to build badly needed new housing due to improvements in its wastewater treatment plant, while a nearby village looks set to lose its ‘drought stricken’ status, thanks to a new water supply project.

The capacity at the sewerage treatment plant in Mitchelstown has been increased and now has the capacity to handle up to 75 additional new homes in the area.

The development was welcomed by local councillors who said that, for several years, building had been held up in the area due to the issue. 

However, this is only an interim solution and a new treatment plant will be needed if the town is to be able to facilitate further development in the years ahead.

Meanwhile, the expansion of the nearby village of Kildorrery has also been held up for years, this time because of its archaic water supply infrastructure. The village is to get a major mains pipe replacement programme and the addition of a new water reservoir.

Members of the council’s Northern Division were informed by county engineer Kevin Morey of the two projects.

He said there had been sewerage treatment capacity issues in Mitchelstown for many years, which had stifled its growth as the council could not approve many planning applications as a result.

Mr Morey added there was also an issue with discharging treated waste into the River Funshion, designated under the terms of legislation to be ‘environmentally sensitive’. 

He said up until recently only three of the four filters at the plant had been working, but the fourth was now operational for treated discharges and working well.

This upgrade will allow for an increase in effluent treatment for a population increase of about 200 people — between 70 to 75 new homes.

He was responding to queries on the project from Fianna Fáil councillor Deirdre O’Brien, who welcomed the news.

However, both she and Fine Gael councillor Kay Dawson stressed that no major expansion of the town and its hinterland can happen without the development of a new treatment plant. “There is some light at the end of the tunnel, but this is only a short-term solution,” Ms Dawson said.

Mr Morey said he was conscious of this as the council needed to have proper infrastructure in place to allow for more residential, commercial and industrial expansion in the area.

Fianna Fáil councillor Frank O’Flynn said the council should lobby the minister for the environment on this need and assistant county chief executive James Fogarty agreed with him.

Meanwhile, the same councillor welcomed news from Mr Morey about upgrading the water supply in Kildorrery. The village has been dubbed the most drought-stricken in the county after years of water mains breakages and an inadequate backup supply from its small reservoir tower — which is also leaking.

Mr Morey said Irish Water had agreed to build a new reservoir to serve the area. It will be built on the site of the present tower. It is expected the design of this and tender documents seeking a suitable contractor will be completed within the next few weeks. It is hoped construction will start before the end of the year and take about 12 months to complete.

Mr Morey told Mr O’Flynn that this part of the project would not interfere with the laying of new mains pipes in the area.