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At a hearing before Judge Aenaes McCarthy in Athenry District Court today Galway County Council were convicted and fined for a major fish kill in the Clarin river on July 19th last.
There were two summonses before the court;
1. Pollution of Clairin River, causing fish kill -19/07/2006
2. Pollution of the Clairin River by discharge from Council sewage works resulting in severe oxygen depletion in the river downstream of the town - 26/07/2006.
The Court was told that a pump malfunction was the cause of the major fish kill that affected the Clairin River on the 19th July 2006 and wiped out trout, salmon minnow, lamprey and eels in a 600 metre stretch of the river.
The malfunction led to the release of untreated sewage from the Caheroyn area of the town directly to the river via a storm outfall pipe, as the back up pump failed and the primary pump was out of service at the time. The Court heard that the discharge lasted at least three days before being remedied.
Fishery Board staff were first alerted to the incident by anglers and tourists visiting the town on the 19th July 2006. Dissolved oxygen levels down to 14.7% saturation were recorded in the affected zone near Athenry Castle – where 100% would be normal.
This was an incident that was almost inevitable as it raises serious issues with regard to preventative maintenance and management of wastewater infrastructure.
In a separate and related case before the court relating to the Co. Council’s wastewater treatment plant at Newford Athenry, Judge Mc Carthy expressed serious concern that pollution of the river was ongoing even to the present. The Court was told by the Boards Senior Environmental Officer, Kevin Rogers that the wastewater treatment plant was operating at a very low efficiency level for the removal of pollutants. The effluent being discharged into the river had a very high level of ammonia and organic matter.
The discharge had the affect of increasing river ammonium level by a factor of 700 fold at a distance 1.5km downstream of Athenry. Dissolved oxygen levels of 6% was recorded 1.5km downstream of the discharge.
The sewage outfall has a very serious and continuing impact on the Clairin River. When asked by Judge Mc Carthy if there were any fish in the river, the witness replied that no, there were not any salmonids in the zone downstream of the sewage plant to Whistle bridge, a distance of 5.8 kilometres.
Judge Mc Carthy ruled that he would mark the second case (that of the discharge from the treatment plant) as facts proven but would adjourn the case to the October Court to allow time for the Co. Council to prepare interim plans to rectify matters.
The judge convicted the Council on the fish kill case and fined the council €1,000 with expenses of €2,010 and costs of €600.
Further Information:
Kevin Rogers
Senior Fishery Environmental Officer
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