Mutton Island treatment plant may be shut down
The decommissioning and replacement of the Mutton Island Waste Water Treatment Plant off The Claddagh in the city is among proposals being considered by Uisce Éireann to meet Galway’s future infrastructure needs.
Documents released to An Taisce in Galway as part of an Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) request, and seen by the Galway City Tribune, show that closing the controversial treatment plant has been shortlisted as a ‘high-level option’ to address wastewater infrastructure deficiencies.
The proposal, presented as part of the works on developing a new Galway City Drainage Area Plan, suggests that Mutton Island would be decommissioned following the construction of a new waste water treatment plant to the east of the city, inland near Oranmore.
Mutton Island was officially opened in 2004 after decades of controversy and heated legal disputes.
The proposal currently under consideration would see it closed and wastewater pumped from the west and east of the city into a new treatment plant which would also serve Athenry, where an existing plant would also be decommissioned.
The new treatment plant would serve towns and settlements from as far out as Furbo to the west and would take in a number of currently ‘unsewered areas’.
Derrick Hambleton, who was part of the original ‘Save Galway Bay’ campaign, which opposed the construction of the wastewater treatment plant at Mutton Island, said he believed this proposal sought to address a concern raised by their group four decades ago – the impact of climate change on Mutton Island.
“This is something that is clearly being discussed at a high level – but there’s no discussion at a ‘low level’. The public are not being told,” he said, noting that An Taisce had to submit requests under AIE to access this information, which, he argued, should be in the public domain.
“While the documents don’t mention rising sea levels, I think that is the reason they are looking towards abandoning Mutton Island. It is probably cheaper to build a new treatment plant than to try protecting Mutton Island – and it won’t be cheap,” said Mr Hambleton.
The long-time environmental campaigner said wastewater infrastructure was critical to ensure the development of much-needed housing in Galway – and proper investment was required to ensure poor infrastructure didn’t prevent homes from being built.
Pictured: The Mutton Island Waste Water Treatment Plant