‘God only knows what is coming out of those pipes,’ Thurles rivers raised at district meeting

Councillors at the Thurles-Templemore Municipal District Council have passed a motion to develop a plan to tackle water quality issues on the River Suir.

Cllr Jim Ryan put forward the motion at this week’s meeting, which read: 

“I am calling on all relevant bodies to come together to formulate a future plan for the River Suir in Thurles.

“Currently, it is completely overgrown with vegetation, there is no flow or depth, and there is always a continuous problem of green algae forming on the surface. It has become an eyesore and embarrassment to the town.”

The council responded to the motion by saying that if members approve, Thurles MD would “seek an agreement from relevant bodies to come together to discuss a future plan”.

This plan would include the issues raised by the councillor in his motion. 

They also said the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) would support this plan.

Cllr Sean Ryan seconded the motion.  Cllr Jim Ryan welcomed the passing of the motion but asked that in the development of the plan the angling club be included. 

He said he hadn’t seen fish in the river in a while and the area used to have otters, but none have been seen in a while.  The councillor said he recalled a time you could swim in the River Suir. 

And, Cllr Ryan said it’s not just in the town.  A group in Holycross are currently very worried about material they say is being discharged from the new water treatment plant. The group has provided the councillor with videos of the discharge and is calling for an investigation. 

“God only knows what is coming out of those pipes,” said Cllr Ryan.

Cllr Kay Cahill-Skehan said that as the plant is a new one, it would be “disappointing” to see it pumping harmful material into the river.

An official from the council’s environment section said they would examine the video and make some enquiries.

Cllr Sean Ryan said all of the members are getting queries from locals about the river.

“If all bodies can get together, we would get some answers. This is an amenity in our town,” said Cllr Ryan. 
Cllr Peggy Ryan said she would like more information on the development of the plan, like when will it happen and what resources will be employed.

She said there is a lot of anger locally, about the state of the river and the consequences of its neglect. 

“People are fed up with the flooding and the damage to property as well.

“I have been looking for assistance for two years now and Jim for longer. The mood in the town is very dissatisfied by biodiversity and the handling by the council,” said Cllr Ryan.

She said they have met the biodiversity officer, and that is “disappointing”.

Cllr Cahill Skehan said people ask her: “The river is beautiful in Cahir. Why can’t it be beautiful in Thurles?

LAWPRO manager in the southeast region, Fran Igoe, said these are all concerns they share. He said he recently spent some time at the river and conducted tests on the water.

Mr Igoe said he found the depth and pressure low and a brown sediment that should not be there. 

He also said the level of silt caused by the breakdown of large amounts of algae “is just not natural”.

Mr Igoe said he did not find any invertebrates, which surprised him but he did find freshwater shrimp and blackfly lava. 

And that while there is a lot of vegetation, it is the result of excess nutrients in the water. 

He said plants grow, “sucking up” the nutrients and acting as “a natural water treatment system”.

Following his survey, Mr Igoe consulted colleagues and an expert at UCD, who told him dredging the river and removing the vegetation would not help. It would, at best mean the problem returned in two years. 

But, removing the vegetation would cause everything in the river to flow down all at once, creating problems elsewhere.

PLANS AND NEXT STEPS

Mr Igoe proposed to conduct a scoping study of the river and its needs. 

This would include bringing stakeholders together and bringing in the community to tell them what the river used to be like. 

They would then bring together the relevant agencies and experts and draw up a long-term plan. 

LAWPRO, he said, does not have “machines on the ground,” rather their role is to coordinate. They are, however, keen to ensure whatever plan is developed, is agreed with the authorities and implemented.

“We don’t want a plan that sits on a desk. Nobody wants that, including us at LAWPRO,” said Mr Igoe.

Mr Igoe said there are also things that can be done now. 

Those include desk research, like collating existing data, encouraging farmers to avail of support available to them to improve water quality and raising awareness of the consequences of household flushing products like baby wipes and period pads down the toilet.  

MEETING

The presentation by LAWPRO was received positively by councillors.

Cllr Shane Lee asked for a special meeting on all rivers, including the Bunnow in Roscrea, which has issues that are regularly raised at council meetings.

“My humble opinion is that I feel we are going around in circles. We need to sit down together and have a grown-up conversation,” said Cllr Lee. 

However, Cllr Jim Ryan said he thinks the scoping study should be carried out first so that there is something to discuss at such a meeting. 

He thanked LAWPRO for their presentation and for validating their concerns. 

“For years myself and other councillors have been classed as nagging so it is good that you have done the work to back that up and show that the Suir is dying- it is on its last legs,” said Cllr Ryan.

Cllr Peggy Ryan said community involvement will be very important. She said, done right, a scoping or feasibility study is something that locals could get behind.

“We are getting constant calls on this. I don’t think you understand the scale of the dissatisfaction on this,” said Cllr Ryan.

Cllr Sean Ryan pointed out that Laois County Council secured funding from the OPW to remove debris from the River Nore.

He acknowledged that every river is different but asked the possibility be explored for the Suir.

He also raised concerns about the river in Littleton, which floods in heavy rain and causes damage to one particular house.

“I dread it that we have huge amounts of rain,” said Cllr Ryan. 

Mr Igoe said he agreed that the next steps should be investigative, and then a meeting could be held. 

He agreed with Cllr Cahill-Skehan and said that when he did his PhD, he remembered visiting Holycross and described it as “fantastic.”

When he went back recently, he was “disappointed” with the deterioration. 

He also said he had inquired with the OPW on funding and is awaiting a reply.