Works to prevent an environmental hazard occurring in the waters of the Corrib Estuary at Long Walk must become a priority in 2021 for the Galway City Council.
This is the view of Fianna Fáil Galway City West councillor, John Connolly, who alerted the council's environment department to the issue, after he had been contacted by a constituent who had video footage of what appeared to be raw effluent exiting into the water near Long Walk.
A report is to be published on the condition of waste water infrastructure in the Long Walk area. It is understood the report will assess the structural integrity of a foul water holding chamber, as well as the discharge route, and condition of pipes in the river bed from the Long Walk chamber.
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The surveying was to have taken place in mid-October, but according to Cllr Connolly, it was delayed and was only conducted last week. However, Cllr Connolly understands that the investigation has discovered a number of defects that will require remediation, including an overflow from the holding chamber, a defective valve, and an issue regarding connections between stormwater and wastewater pipes was also discovered in Spanish Parade.
“The visual impact of these problems may be intermittent, but the deficiency is unsightly and is causing an obvious environmental hazard," said Cllr Connolly. "Following receipt of the report, it is important to start working at the earliest opportunity on designing the solution. It is imperative that funding would be provided by Irish Water to rectify the problem as a matter of urgency in 2021.”
