‘No evidence’ of another sewage spill at River Dodder
By Mark Keane
There is “no evidence of another [sewage] spill” after a local community groups voiced concerns over the colour and smell of the water between Kilvere and Templeogue at the River Dodder last weekend.
After an initial pollution incident occurred on the Oldcourt stream on 18 July, further concerns were raised after locals reported dogs getting sick and spotted an increase in the number of dead rabbits in local fields.
Members of Dodder Action and Cherryfield Dog Walkers have been monitoring the situation, and have called on South Dublin County Council to investigate the quality of the water.
Confirming the earlier incident in July, a spokesperson for South Dublin County Council told The Echo that the issue was investigated, with "foul flow" to the river ceasing two hours later.
Following this, the council carried out remedial works on 20 July to a broken sewer pipe to prevent a future incident.
Locals queried whether the sewage could have stayed together travelling downstream from 18 July to 28 July.
However, the council spokesperson said: “The material sighted on the 28th [July] was likely due to the rainfall on the 27th and 28th moving material downstream”.
A Met Eireann rainfall warning for Dublin had been issued on Friday (July 27) which the council spokesperson said “would have washed silts and debris sitting in pipes down through the drainage network and potentially material from the previous spill would also have been washed downstream”.
The spokesperson added: “Members of the Water Pollution Team in South Dublin have been monitoring this situation since the spill and have walked this stretch of the River Dodder again today. There is currently no clouding or discolouration in the river.”
Despite the reported increase of dead rabbits in local fields, the spokesperson said there was “no link” between the two issues and that they noted fish activity at a number of locations on the Dodder from the Weir to the Oldcourt stream on Tuesday, 31 July.
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