Mitchelstown getting a raw deal from Council and Irish Water

Despite the fact that planning was granted by Cork County Council for 30 housing units at Sliabh Alainn at Brigown in Mitchelstown back in 2017, progress on the development has been stalled because Cork County Council attached a condition to the development requiring that the local Waste Water Treatment Plant be replaced.

Four years on, no meaningful progress has been made and as the town suffers, the town is now calling on the Council and Irish Water to find a temporary solution that will allow house building to get under way.

Locals make the point that building of houses continues in Cork City even though the waste water treatment situation there is critically over capacity and in Cork harbour, 5,000 tonnes of untreated sewage is pumped into the sea every day.

Irish Water and Cork City Council has not stopped building in Cork City and yet Irish Water and Cork County Council have stopped house building in Mitchelstown where the issues are significantly less serious.

“Why are we treated differently?” the people ask.

A report by the county engineer dated February 2021 carried inside this week’s Avondhu, has reassured councillors that the proposed works to upgrade Mitchelstown Waste Water Treatment Plant ‘are in the final stages of preparation’. However, a start date has not been given.

If Mitchelstown is faced with waiting years for a new waste water treatment plant, a temporary solution ‘can and must’ be found to allow house building to get under way immediately, local people say.

A number of people businessman Denis McGrath has spoken to on the matter, believe that Cork County Council should immediately set up an ‘ engineering task force’ to assess the treatment plant and recommend temporary measures to increase output while a permanent solution is being worked on. This, they say, would allow building construction to commence immediately.

“This is not rocket science,” they say, stressing that a solution is available ‘off the shelf’ that could be in place ‘within weeks’.

Such a task force could review such things as: Is the plant operating 24/7 and/or would additional manpower and engineering resources help? Are the current pumps operating at optimum performance and if so, can higher output pumps or additional pumps be quickly installed?

Another important question is can temporary holding tanks be installed and the waste treated off line or, can the waste from the current plant be drawn to another site and treated elsewhere?

“A portable waste water treatment plant could be rapidly deployed to provide short term waste water treatment. These portable treatment plants are generally available to either rent or buy,” said Denis McGrath, who is firmly behind the push.

“I and a number of people I have spoken to, believe this is the solution. It could increase output to whatever Mitchelstown’s needs might be,” he said, adding that the system could be rented and is ‘cost effective’, with no capital plan or government approval required.

He also suggests that smart technology be employed to fully understand the current performance of the plant. “Accurate data could evaluate what is going on and direct resources to the correct underperforming part of the process.”

In a section of a letter to Minister Darragh O’Brien this week which outlines some or all of the above, Denis McGrath wrote:

“If 3A (temporary tanks) or 3B (portable treatment plant) above is employed, we can commence construction immediately with the knowledge that the temporary solution will be in place when the houses come to market in approximately 6 months.

“This is a real and viable solution and the only thing that can stop it is the (lack of) political will to do it. We have had years of inaction, it is now time for action, are you going to support us or just look into it? Are you going to listen to the heartfelt pleas of a mother of four who wrote to you last week asking: When can I tell my family that they can come home?

“Are you going to use the power of your office and ministerial position with responsibility for Waste Water issues to support the people of Mitchelstown and demand immediate action?”