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The Irish Independent reports that Dublin's drinking
water supply could be seriously polluted by a Co Wicklow quarry,
unless major work is carried out to stop industrial run-off
from entering a nearby reservoir.
It has emerged that a quarry at Roundwood is causing silt
to enter a stream which feeds into the Vartry Reservoir, which
provides thousands of litres of water a day to south Dublin.
Dublin City Council said it had "long-running concerns" about
pollution at the site, but said there was no "immediate threat"
to the capital's drinking water supply.
A Sunday newspaper had revealed that industrial sludge is
leaking from a quarry operated by Kevin Devlin Transport Limited
at Roundwood. The company is facing legal action from Wicklow
County Council for not having planning permission to carry
out its operations. A memo from Dublin City Council's engineer
in charge at the reservoir, Edward Fleming, asks his colleagues
to investigate the pollution "urgently".
The memo states - 'I would confirm that silt-laden water
from the quarry is regularly flowing into one of Vartry Reservoir's
feeder streams. The pollution seems to occur with every wet
spell - clearly indicating that the measures to contain contaminated
water in the quarry are inadequate. I would ask that you investigate
this as a matter of urgency'.
A spokesman for Wicklow County Council said that enforcement
proceedings were "going through the process", but would not
make further comment. A file had been sent to the council's
enforcement section, but further action is unlikely until
September or October.
A Dublin City Council spokeswoman said the quarry was not
operating to "best practice". "There is no immediate risk
to Dublin's drinking water" - she said. "We don't think there's
any threat, but it's just not best practice. We would have
long-term concerns and we have, at different times, flagged
the issue. It's a matter of treating the surface water and
putting in place reed beds (to clean the water)."
Source - The Irish Independent
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