Dáil debates
Wednesday, 8 February 2006
Water and Sewerage Schemes.
9:00 pm
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
To stress the importance of investing in the sewage treatment systems in both the upper and lower Liffey catchments, I will begin by discussing water supplies in the greater Dublin area. At Ballymore Eustace, Dublin City Council abstracts 250 million litres per day from the River Liffey. There are proposals to take a further 66 million litres from the river at that source in the short term, which is too much.
The river then flows through County Kildare towards Dublin until it reaches Sallins where there is a major regional sewage treatment plant. This plant has serious problems and sewage leaks into the river, particularly in wet weather when one must also contend with storm water. The river, thus contaminated by waste, then continues through north Kildare towards Dublin where the next plant it meets is Fingal County Council's water treatment plant at Leixlip where 148 million litres are abstracted and treated.
Like other plants, the level of water treatment at the plant depends on the abstracted water's cleanliness. Obviously, when an overloaded sewerage plant upstream from it leaks into the river, the level of chemical intervention is much higher to clean up the water. An engineer informed me that this process is known as enrichment, although it is not the kind of enrichment for which I would wish. The plant serves Fingal, some of Dublin city, South Dublin County Council, north Kildare and Meath, all of which consequently have an interest in this issue.
Once the river passes by the Leixlip water treatment plant, it flows past the Leixlip sewage treatment plant which is also earmarked for expansion. I understand that this proposal may be funded. Local residents in Sallins noticed that sewage was flowing into the river and obviously were concerned about the quality of their living environment. Given the level of development that has taken place in that area, I can understand their concern.
Kildare County Council has written to me and to others in a categoric manner. It stated:
Given the unprecedented growth in the . . . catchment in recent years, and the combined nature of the network, both wastewater and surface water, the Sallins pumping station, along with other elements of the network have reached breaking point. The result is that in particularly in times of heavy rainfall, the network becomes overloaded and overflows occur at the pumping station into nearby watercourses.
In other words, into what will end up being our drinking water. The letter goes on to state:
Kildare County Council are fully aware of the situation and as far back as 1999 Kildare County Council commissioned a report to identify infrastructural requirements to meet current and future needs. This report was completed in 2002 and forwarded to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government . . . [The] overall cost of the proposed scheme is €65 million, which is obviously outside the scope of Kildare County Council's own finances and hence the need for departmental approval and associated funding. Kildare County Council has constantly pressed the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for approval of the overall report to allow it to proceed to the next stage . . . [The council] met with the Department in December 2005 . . . [and at that] meeting it was agreed to progress some of the recommendations . . . [to deal] with the short-term issues.
What is the problem? This work is necessary and those people who bought houses and have come to live in Kildare will not move out. They will not stop running their taps or flushing their toilets. Why postpone this work and damage the river for other uses? Why pump more chemicals into the population instead of cleaning up the water at source? The River Liffey's primary use has been designated as the supply of drinking water. We should stop using it as a toilet and should fund the necessary projects.
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