Michael Moynihan: Why is Uisce Éireann doing so much damage to Cork's precious waterways?
The spillage near the Marina is another case of Uisce Éireann’s actions running completely contrary to its avowed objectives. Flooding roads with waste water to the extent that tankers must be brought in to drain those roads? Picture: Larry Cummins
Ah, a weekend in the city. Here’s yours truly in Cork a few days back.
Saturday, I went into town for a hunt around. A little gem was found in Vibes and Scribes: a second-hand copy of by Robert Gibbings. I had it in my hand, ready to buy, when one of my research assistants interrupted me with another book that needed to be bought urgently.
How many biographies of Edith Piaf one person needs I don’t know, but I was distracted and left Gibbings after me. Next visit, though.
Sunday, a walk along the Marina, where the new promenade was looking its best, the afternoon strollers in good humour, saluting and nodding to each other. The scenes always make me think of Warner Brothers classic movies from the 30s, particularly the ‘improving’ sort of biography where historical figures keep running into each other (“Good morning, Pasteur!” “Balzac, what are you doing here?” etc).
Tuesday? Not so good.
As reported here in the last couple of days, there has been flooding in the area near Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork.
At the time of writing, the situation was still fluid (sorry): “Uisce Éireann is continuing efforts this morning to resolve a wastewater overflow in the Atlantic Pond area of Cork city, which has led to the closure of Monahan Road and Centre Park Road.
“The incident was caused by equipment failure at a pumping station. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Cork City Council have been notified, and Uisce Éireann has been asked whether sewage has entered the River Lee.
“Flooding has affected roads near the pond, and the public is advised to avoid the area. Crews are on-site, using tankers to remove excess wastewater and working to mitigate the impact.”
This is not the first time Uisce Éireann has had an adverse effect on Cork waterways in recent months.
The company was fined in December for a spillage from the Freemount treatment plant in North Cork which resulted in the deaths of thousands of fish.
As reported here: “A leak of polyaluminium chloride straight into the Allow river — an important place for salmon and trout nurseries — did ‘irreparable damage’, turning parts of the river a ghostly grey, discolouring the dead fish and the river bed.
“Uisce Éireann pleaded guilty to one of three pollution charges in a case brought by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) . . . Although Freemount Water Treatment Centre had no previous convictions, Uisce Éireann had 18 previous similar convictions since 2015...
“I have to convict, it’s too serious not to,” Judge Roberts said. “I take into account the guilty plea.”
He fined Uisce Éireann €3,500 with one month to pay (out of a maximum fine of €5,000).
That is serious damage and destruction, but there are other issues with Cork’s water supply.
Last October, this newspaper reported: “The residents of Mount Farran in Blackpool, whose dirty water problem was raised directly with the Taoiseach in the Dáil last week, have now written to public representatives this weekend, and complained again to Uisce Éireann, about the continued worsening of their water supply.
“One householder took samples of their tap water every day since last Saturday and labelled each with a complaint reference number, with the first sample taken on October 12, and dirty water samples taken daily until October 17. Another householder logged a complaint on Friday after seven consecutive days of dirty water.”
Earlier this month, Uisce Éireann said it would continue its efforts to improve water quality in Cork City, with a proactive flushing programme scheduled to begin in the Mount Farran area on Wednesday, January 15.
It is fair to say Uisce Éireann, then Irish Water, had a troubled introduction to the public at large, and its image has not improved significantly since then.
Taking the incidents above in reverse order, it seems hard to believe a community in the middle of the second-largest city in the country cannot be provided with clean, drinkable water.
The violence of Storm Eowyn means there are parts of the country which still do not have power — or water, if their supply is based on an electrical pump — but in some cases, those areas are quite remote, with access for necessary works presenting a particular problem. Mount Farran is 20 minutes walk from St Patrick’s Street.
Everyone hopes those parts of the country without electricity are reconnected as soon as possible, obviously. For context, this newspaper reported in October that Mount Farran “is one of many areas of Cork city that has been affected by the city’s dirty water crisis which began following the commissioning of the city’s new water treatment plant on the Lee Road in August 2022.”
August 2022. Two and a half years ago.
The fish kill in North Cork is almost as depressing. Uisce Éireann is “responsible for the delivery of secure, safe, and sustainable water services for the people of Ireland”, according to its own website, but it was responsible for “irreparable damage” to a delicate ecosystem near Freemount. The exact opposite of its mission statement, in other words.
The spillage near the Marina is just the latest in a litany of water disasters, but it has a particular resonance here. The river Allow may be a delicate ecosystem, but is it as delicate a system as Cork’s daily traffic shambles?
The impact of closing the Monahan and Centre Park Roads will hardly improve the flow of cars around the city, even though ‘flow’ does no justice to the gridlock which occurs if the slightest problem occurs anywhere in the network.
More significantly, this is another case of Uisce Éireann’s actions running completely contrary to its avowed objectives. Flooding roads with waste water to the extent that tankers must be brought in to drain those roads?
At the time of writing, it was not clear whether sewage had entered the river Lee from this spill, which brings me back to where I started. Cork city faces many challenges, but it also has some huge natural advantages, and the River Lee is one of the most obvious.
The channels and bridges of the river give the city a distinct atmosphere you don’t get elsewhere. Robert Gibbings didn’t pick his book title out of fresh air, while 500 years ago Edmund Spenser also picked the local river out for special mention with “The spreading Lee, that like an Island fayre Encloseth Corke with his deuided flood,”. The anthem of Cork people has always been The Banks — Of My Own Lovely Lee.
The Lee is immensely cleaner and more attractive than it has been for decades. For those of us who remember the rats feasting on waste under Parliament Bridge, it is a stunning turnaround and should be acknowledged as such.
Now the Lee may be threatened by a spillage due to the operations of a State utility charged with keeping our water clean and safe. Fewer delicious ironies like this would be very welcome.
