This article is from page 16 of the 2014-11-04 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
WHILE Irish Water may not be anyone’s favourite semi-state company just now, it did begin a process last week which could bring an end to one of Clare’s longest running issues as it formally applying for planning permission for an upgrade of the Shannon Town Wastewater Treatment System.
The system, which is used by both domestic consumers and a number of factories in Shannon, has been blamed for series of gas emissions in recent years – including a prolonger period of emissions in September and October of 2013.
Irish Water last week applied for planning permission for the construction of a new inlet works within the boundary of the existing wastewater treatment plant, located approximately 4.8 kilometres southeast of Shannon Town.
The development will include the construction of a large domestic and industrial balancing tank, more than one tenth of a hectare in size, as well as an odour control unit.
The work is part of an proposed € 3 million overhaul of the Shannon Sewage Scheme announced by the Department of the Environment in February.
The current Shannon scheme is more than 40 years old and is understood to be operating far beyond its original capacity.
Already this year work has been undertaken on four pumping stations on the scheme but the current pressure from domestic and industrial sources is understood to be preventing growth in the area.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Clare County Council received more then 50 complaints about the smell in Shannon in September and October of last year.