Councillors were left unsatisfied when they were told by council engineers that public sewers in the Crescent and Griffith Street areas are in good working order.
It was Cllr John Butler who raised the issue of the unpleasant smell at Garden Vale and the Crescent.
“The smell would knock you down at certain times. The sewers are not overflowing but for some reason there is a gas leakage, and a lot of people have been complaining.”
Cllr Mick O’Connell agreed that something needs to be done about the smell. “People attending the doctors’ surgery or businesses in the area shouldn’t have to put up with this. It needs to be sorted out,” he said.
However town engineer Alan Kelly acknowledged that there could be an issue with private sewers in the area. “These are outside our control, they are the responsibility of private individuals,” he said.
Town clerk John Walsh agreed that the council would write to the Department of the Environment on the matter.
Meanwhile, Cllr Ray Lennon remained concerned over what he called the “regular occurrence of sewage effluent “ in the Griffith Street area, saying residents couldn’t be expected to suffer any longer.
“I am not aware of any regular occurrence, but there was one incident when a public sewer overflowed,” replied Mr Walsh, referring to the overflow of raw sewage onto the streets on Sunday March 8.
Director of services Barry Kehoe explained that often problems are caused by the build up of fats and oils in the system, around which the council was planning to introduce strict controls.
“We intend to carry out inspections of places that prepare food, such as hotels and restaurants. They should have grease traps, otherwise the fats coalesce in the sewers and block them, causing problems in the treatment plants,” he explained.
