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Irish Times
5 days ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Swimming banned at Dollymount Strand due to suspected sewage discharge after heavy rainfall
Swimming has been banned at Dollymount strand in Dublin Bay after a 'suspected discharge' of sewage following heavy rainfall. The restriction at the popular designated bathing area on North Bull Island will continue over the coming days. Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin Donna Cooney criticised the way the alert was issued and Uisce Éireann for failing to indicate the source of the discharge. 'This is disgraceful at the start of the bathing season,' she said. READ MORE She said alerts about bathing restrictions needed to be more widely disseminated, as she had found people swimming on the beach despite the measure being in place. Cllr Cooney, a member of the Green Party, said she received an alert to confirm water quality at the beach was 'excellent' on May 26th, but got no notice about the recent restriction. She said the utility company should have indicated where the discharge happened, given that real-time monitoring is supposed to be taking place at its Ringsend wastewater treatment plant. Ms Cooney is a regular swimmer at Dollymount and at the Bull Wall Ladies Shelter. She said she was concerned the discharge would lead to algal blooms as seawater warmed in the coming weeks, which would affect swimmers, water sports activities and marine life in the bay. Discharges have occurred intermittently from the plant, which has been operating at excess capacity for many years. Uisce Éireann said the discharge arose due to overflows from storm tanks at the Ringsend plant. 'There is online monitoring of these storm tanks and Dublin City Council, who are responsible for monitoring of bathing water quality, are notified of any overflows during the bathing season,' said a spokesman. 'Stormwater overflows are an essential part of any wastewater network that enable excess flows to be discharged into the sea, rivers or watercourses in a controlled and regulated manner ... Stormwater discharges normally do not have a lasting effect on bathing waters,' he added. 'The tide will wash out the spill and the salt water and sunlight acts to clean the water. Uisce Éireann apologises for any inconvenience caused and regrets the impact overflow incidents may have on beach users.' Uisce Éireann is investing more than €500 million to upgrade the plant so it can serve a 2.4 million population equivalent by the end of 2025. 'The upgrade of Ringsend means the capacity will be increased and these incidents will be fewer in number, although in extreme weather conditions they could still occur,' said the spokesman. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Health Service Executive have been informed, while the council, which erected notices at Dollymount, said it is awaiting laboratory results to determine whether the temporary prohibition can be lifted.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Bathing restrictions at Dublin Bay's main beach in Dollymount follow suspected sewage discharge after heavy rainfall
Swimming has been banned at Dollymount strand in Dublin Bay after a 'suspected discharge' of sewage following heavy rainfall. The restriction at the popular designated bathing area on North Bull Island will continue over the coming days. Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin Donna Cooney criticised the way the alert was issued and Uisce Éireann for failing to indicate the source of the discharge. 'This is disgraceful at the start of the bathing season,' she said. READ MORE She said alerts about bathing restrictions needed to be more widely disseminated, as she had found people swimming on the beach despite the measure being in place. Cllr Cooney, a member of the Green Party, said she received an alert to confirm water quality at the beach was 'excellent' on May 26th, but got no notice about the recent restriction. She said the utility company should have indicated where the discharge happened, given that real-time monitoring is supposed to be taking place at its Ringsend wastewater treatment plant. Ms Cooney is a regular swimmer at Dollymount and at the Bull Wall Ladies Shelter. She said she was concerned the discharge would lead to algal blooms as seawater warmed in the coming weeks, which would affect swimmers, water sports activities and marine life in the bay. Discharges have occurred intermittently from the plant, which has been operating at excess capacity for many years. Uisce Éireann said the discharge arose due to overflows from storm tanks at the Ringsend plant. 'There is online monitoring of these storm tanks and Dublin City Council, who are responsible for monitoring of bathing water quality, are notified of any overflows during the bathing season,' said a spokesman. 'Stormwater overflows are an essential part of any wastewater network that enable excess flows to be discharged into the sea, rivers or watercourses in a controlled and regulated manner ... Stormwater discharges normally do not have a lasting effect on bathing waters,' he added. 'The tide will wash out the spill and the salt water and sunlight acts to clean the water. Uisce Éireann apologises for any inconvenience caused and regrets the impact overflow incidents may have on beach users.' Uisce Éireann is investing more than €500 million to upgrade the plant so it can serve a 2.4 million population equivalent by the end of 2025. 'The upgrade of Ringsend means the capacity will be increased and these incidents will be fewer in number, although in extreme weather conditions they could still occur,' said the spokesman. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Health Service Executive have been informed, while the council, which erected notices at Dollymount, said it is awaiting laboratory results to determine whether the temporary prohibition can be lifted.
Irish Independent
28-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Part of newly opened Clontarf to city centre cycleway faces 10-week closure for ‘realignment works'
The outbound cycle track at Fairview Avenue Lower and Merville Avenue will be closed for approximately ten weeks to facilitate the works, following recommendations from a Road Safety Audit. The €70m project officially opened in November last year, after years of disruption for local residents and businesses. Local representatives have now raised concerns about the nature of the changes and the additional construction. The planned realignment will move the cycle track closer to the main carriageway at two junctions. It's been argued this is contrary to national and international best practice, which generally advises maintaining a setback between cyclists and turning traffic for improved safety. Green Party councillor Donna Cooney has called for a pause and full review of the realignment plans before any works proceed. 'Bringing people out closer to where the cars are turning certainly won't make me feel safer anyway,' she said. 'There's a large number of children on bikes and parents bringing young children using the route, so it's important it's not made more dangerous.' Cllr Cooney said she had requested a copy of the Road Safety Audit from Dublin City Council, but it has not yet been provided. In addition to safety concerns, she suggested that smaller measures should be attempted first. ADVERTISEMENT 'The parking space should be closed without obstructive barriers and the green space should be made free of all obstructions before a major realignment of the junction that deviates from the National Cycle Manual is considered,' she said. 'The roadworks required to carry out this realignment would also remove the busy bus lane for most of the daytime, while no provision seems to have been made to provide bus priority on one of the two northbound general traffic lanes. 'Not to mention the closure of what is now a very busy cycle lane for ten weeks without any alternative provisions. 'What we really need is funding to prevent rat running through Marino,' she added. Separately, Green Party councillor and Transport spokesperson Feljin José raised concerns the proposed changes appear to deviate from national guidance. 'The proposed design does not comply with the National Transport Authority's Cycle Design Manual,' he said. 'The current layout has issues, but it is much more closely aligned with the Manual, and any realignments should be aimed at full compliance, not complete deviation. 'Carrying out ten more weeks of roadworks and such a major realignment after a two-and-a-half-year construction period would damage the public's confidence in Dublin City Council's ability to deliver active travel routes and could also be seen as wasteful spending,' he added. Dublin City Council said the changes are necessary to address safety concerns identified in the Road Safety Audit. Access to the bus stop at Fairview Avenue Lower will be maintained, but the cycle track will remain closed for the duration of the works. A spokesperson for the council's Active Travel Programme Office said: 'As part of the Clontarf to City Centre Scheme, following the recent Road Safety Audit 3, the proposed cycle-track realignment works at Fairview Avenue Lower and Merville Avenue are scheduled to commence on Monday, April 28. 'A duration of approximately ten weeks will be required to complete the necessary realignment works. The outbound cycle track at these locations will be closed to facilitate the works. 'Dublin City Council apologises for any inconvenience caused and seeks the understanding and co-operation of the public during the course of these works.'
