The opening of a new waste-water treatment plant will help to clean up Cork Harbour by cutting raw sewage discharges into it by 50 per cent, Minister for Local Government Simon Coveney has said.
Mr Coveney said the Irish Water plant at Shanbally near Ringaskiddy was a key component in the €117 million Cork Lower Harbour Main Drainage Project which aims to improve the quality of water.
The new plant treats some 50 per cent of sewage previously being discharged into the harbour from Carrigaline, Crosshaven and Shanbally, and is designed to cater for the 20,000 existing homes and businesses in these areas as well as future domestic and commercial developments.
“This project is hugely important to improving the quality of water in Cork Lower Harbour. This will bring huge benefits to communities right across the harbour as we seek to promote this fantastic amenity at the heart of our city for visitors and residents alike,” said Nr Coveney.
Tourism
“It is shocking that raw sewage has been discharged for so many years directly to the harbour, but we are now addressing this problem with an investment in waste-water infrastructure that will facilitate future growth and development and support tourism across the region.”
Cork County mayor Seamus McGrath said that prior to the opening of the plant, the equivalent of 44,000 wheelie bins worth of raw sewage was being pumped into the harbour every day.
“This is now been reduced by half, and by the time this project is complete in 2020 it will have been reduced to zero. This is great news for the environment, the people of Cork and the future of the harbour.”
Mr Coveney noted that work had also recently started on the repair and upgrade of the sewerage network on the south side of Cork Lower Harbour, including Carrigaline, Monkstown, Passage West and Ringaskiddy, and work in Cobh is expected to start in 2018.
New plant
“We will continue to see the benefits as more areas are connected to the new plant over the coming years. This investment by Irish Water highlights the need for a national utility with the expertise and funding to address the deficits in water and waste-water infrastructure throughout the State.”
Katherine Walshe, southern regional operations manager with Irish Water, said Irish Water would continue to develop the sewerage network across the harbour to ensure all waste was subject to full treatment by 2019.
She said Irish Water planned to ensure that the practice of discharging untreated sewage into rivers and the sea was ended by 2021.
