Excavated soil around wastewater plant to be removed from Inis Mór
Irish Water confirmed this week that excavated soil resulting from ongoing works on a wastewater treatment plant at Inis Mór on the Aran Islands will be stockpiled and removed as soon as possible.
Local residents of Kilronan Cottages said they were ‘very concerned’ that ground to the rear of their homes was contaminated adding that they wanted more information on the result of soil sampling carried out by Irish Water in the area.
“The fact that the soil is contaminated is not surprising given that the site and adjacent sites have been used as an illegal wastewater dumpsite for years and that Irish Water is still in breach of the conditions of a wastewater discharge licence granted by the EPA in 2014,” the residents said in a statement issued this week.
The Kilronan Residents group have also written to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the HSE (Health Services Executive) and Galway West TDs, requesting that the results of the soil sampling be explained clearly to them and that the implications of the contamination be addressed.
They have also asked the EPA to ‘act immediately’ to compel the relevant bodies to remedy ‘the ongoing unauthorised discharge of sewage into the environment that’s occurring adjacent to their homes’.
“Residents have long believed that the sewage pollution so close to their homes must have negative health implications and they are asking that steps be taken to rectify the problem once and for all,” they state.
In a statement released to the Connacht Tribune this week, Irish Water said that maintenance works at the Kilronan Cottages wastewater treatment plant ‘are ongoing’ and that as part of these works any soil which has been excavated ‘is now stockpiled awaiting disposal’.
West Galway FF TD, Éamon Ó Cuív, said that a proper and comprehensive sewerage and wastewater treatment plant needed to be provided on Inis Mór rather than any piecemeal solutions.
“There are ongoing serious concerns among local residents about the sewage treatment works in Kilronan and they need to be addressed properly."
(Photo from Kilronan Residents' group: wastewater pooling on the surface).
This is a shortened preview version of this article. To read the rest of the story, see the June 3 edition of the Connacht Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.