‘Mysterious’ substance discovered in Tallaght park river
By Mary Dennehy
SAMPLES of a mysterious ‘mint green’ substance that contaminated a 100-metre stretch of water in Sean Walsh Park this week have been sent for analysis, The Echo has learned.
On Monday evening, the substance was spotted flowing from a griddled drain into a section of water which lies close to the playground in Sean Walsh Park.
Aylesbury resident Peter Daly, who is behind the Tallaght Park Watch Facebook page, noticed the substance while out walking his dogs.
He told The Echo: “Whatever it was, it was coming out of the grid and was there by accident or design.
“There was definitely too much of it to be coming from a home and when I went back the next morning, it was still there.
“It was reported to Inland Fisheries Ireland and South Dublin County Council, who were both pro-active and responsive.
“However, it’s important now that the water is monitored going forward.”
He added: “This water flows into the Dodder and if material is getting into the water through the grid, it has to be stopped.
“There is a real danger here for all of the fish, wildlife and birds in the area . . . with swans swimming in the substance on Tuesday.
“This grid and stretch of water is also near a children’s playground
“We really need to keep monitoring this and ensure that nothing but water is flowing in.”
Teresa Walsh, the council’s Director of Environment, Water and Climate Change, told The Echo that they started an initial investigation on Tuesday morning after being alerted of the discharge.
Ms Walsh said: “We have collected samples and sent them to the lab for analysis.
“A ‘mint green’ colour for a stretch of approximately 100m was observed, the source of this is unknown, but could have been paint brush washings.
“The site was inspected again this morning [Wednesday] and the green colour is gone.”
She added: “The Drainage Maintenance section will clean the storm water discharge plinth, screen and rocks in the adjacent downstream area and the area will be monitored over the next week.”
In a separate incident, a discharge of pollution is also believed to have entered the River Dodder from two pipes in the Ballycullen direction at Firhouse Weir in mid-December.
Replying to a question by Independent councillor Dermot Looney on the incident, the council said that the location was inspected on December 21, and “was observed to conform to normal storm water discharge quality”.
