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Carnagarve Sewage Treatment Plant Sensation

Posted Thursday, August 18, 2011

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Carnagarve

After rejecting it last year, they've gone and given permission for the Sewage Treatment Planet to be built at Carnagarve, along with the sewage treatment pumps at places like the River Row according to this morning's Inishowen Independent.

That was a bit of a shock and came out of the blue as it seemed that it would never be built there after the rejection of the report by the Council last year.

It will, of course, clean up the Foyle as there is raw sewage going into it at various points.

This would have been an embarassment to the area with the Round the Wolrd Clipper race coming up next July and Derry's City of Culture in 2013 both of which should bring a huge boost to the area.

Best Place

However, this was not a debate about whether we should have a sewage treatment plant but on where the best place should be to have it.

No one was arguing that they were happy with raw sewage being pumped in.

I remember talking to two guys from Dublin who had just been out to one of the world's great software hubs in Mumbai (Bombay).

One of them said that although there were great advances in Mumbai there was still raw sewage being pumped into the river.

I didn't say too much but it is an embarassment in 2011 to be still doing it here.

Further Out

However, Enda's argument was that it would be even better if the sewage would be dumed out further out the lough where it would be taken out to sea by the tides.

When the council did the original projectionthetests and modelling showed that all the sewage would go out to sea and none would come back inland from a sewage treatment works at Carnagarve.

However, that was based on the sewage being pumped out along a 600 meter long pipe.

it was pointed out to them that this would be in the middle of a shipping lane and would be a dangerous to shipping as anchors could be caught up in it.

It would be illegal to do this.

So, as they didn't even know this you wouldn't put trust in any expert recommendations that they would make.

New Proposal

They then suggested a 350 metre pipe but their tests were on a potential 600 metre long one.

Also, the original idea of a pipe out past Greencastle was rejected as being too expensive but they have now spent so much in fighting to have it at Carnagarve, including a €278,000 hearing with fancy lawyers when the Carnagarve campaigners weren't even offered a glass of water, that this is not a factor now.

They would have saved all that money and time if they just stuck it up past Greencastle originally.

They seemed determined for some reason to have it at Carnagarve.

New Claims

They are now saying that test and models show that none of the effluent will come back into Carnagarve.

One would think that they would now be open to be sued if that proved not to be the case in the future.

However, it looks as if the decision has been made although Enda and the gang can appeal it - as they surely will.

At least we will have clean water and maybe more fish - but there is still the danger that swimmers and bathers will be surrounded by raw sewage at Carnagarve.

Those that say there is no chance of that will have all to pay for if that doesn't turn out to be the case.

This story has more to run and there could be further battles yet.

More details are in this morning's Inishown Independent.