An Taisce investigation has revealed that an entire Glenamaddy town’s sewage is being piped into a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) turlough in County Galway, creating a totally unacceptable health and environmental hazard.
An Taisce’s report and photos reveal that the sewage from Glenamaddy town – population c.700 – is being piped into Glenamaddy turlough just to the east of the town. There it enters a swallow hole which drains the turlough, before apparently (according to tracer dye studies) re-emerging at Lettera spring some 3.5 km to the west of the town.
The primitive, unlicensed sewage unit – which Galway County Council admits is “grossly undersized” – has been in place since the 1950s. It has been a subject of internal discussions within various public authorities for the best part of at least 20 years, yet the hazard continues to this day.
Further details are available here.
