This article is from page 4 of the 2012-07-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
LAHINCH hotelier and head of the Irish Hotel Federation, Michael Vaughan, has withdrawn his calls for an independent investigation into the e-coli outbreak which forced the closure of the Clare’s three main swimming beaches over the weekend.
This comes following the confirmation by Clare County Council that the temporary closure of beaches at Lahinch, Kilkee and Spanish Point was the result of run off from nearby farmland, and not as a result of a breakdown in the sewerage infrastructure in either of the three locations.
Mr Vaughan confirmed that follow a lengthy conversation with County Manager, Tom Coughlan, yesterday, he was satisfied that the sewage treatment plant in Lahinch was not the source of the e-coli.
In a statement to The Clare People last night, a council spokesperson confirmed that it was run off from nearby land and not sewage which caused the e-coli build-up.
“The excessive rainfall in recent weeks was a major contributory factor to the detection of e-coli in the water. Lahinch, Kilkee and Spanish Point beaches are each located in bays, unlike other bathing areas along the west coast of Clare.
“As a result, the run off from land surrounding these beaches became concentrated in enclosed bodies of water resulting in the greater concentration of bacteria levels. The results of water samples taken at beaches which are located at less enclosed locations along the coast did not show such elevated levels.
“The effluent from the wastewater treatment plant in Lahinch has been consistently within the permitted limits for the three main parameters for measuring the discharge of effluent from treatment plants, namely Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and suspended solids, and the plant has capacity to treat the existing town including increased population during holiday periods.
“Neither have there been any untreated overflows from the network during the period in which the water samples resulting in exceedances of the Blue Flag limits were taken at Lahinch beach.”
Clare County Council say they will continue to consult with the HSE as well as carrying out further water quality tests on the effected beaches.