Workshop held today (October 18th) between representatives of Irish Water and elected members of Tipperary County Council.
Issue of flooding in Thurles Town high on the agenda.
Today, a ‘Workshop’ was held between representatives from Irish Water and elected members of Tipperary County Council, including Thurles Municipal District officials and engineers, from the Council’s Water Services Section; their business to discuss investment plans for Co. Tipperary.
We are told that high on the agenda was the issue of flooding in Thurles Town, experienced on Sunday night, which occurred following a period of heavy rainfall, which in turn resulted in streets being flooded by water and sewage, to a dept of over 100mm on various streetscapes.
We understand that Thurles Municipal District Council members outlined on our behalf, details of the impact that flooded streets were having on the town and the difficulties being frequently experienced by local businesses and private homes in the areas of Friar Street, west of the town.
Irish Water representatives from the Waste Water Network Asset Planning section confirmed that they were aware of the extent of the issues and confirmed that an analysis of the network had recently been completed and would be expedited.
While we have no details as of yet, with regards to the closed discussions, we understand that our elected representatives were informed that once design options were further advanced, then Irish Water will present all solutions to Tipperary County Council.
As we head into an uncertain winter season and to sum up; there are no real solutions currently in the ‘pipeline‘ (forgive the pun), aimed at presently solving or resolving the flooding problems in Thurles, so probably best to acquire sandbags.
According to some town residents, Thurles may be twinning with Venice shortly; same to be announced by Thurles TD’s, within the next few days.
However, those with properties under water claim that drains are not being cleaned and that engineers have questions to answer regarding drainage brought about by the half-finished upgrading of the Liberty Square town centre.
Cathedral Street, Thurles. October 16th 2022.
Fianna Road, Thurles, October 16th 2022.
Emmett Street, Thurles, October 16th 2022.
Kickham Street, Thurles, October 16th 2022.
Thurles Town Park, Thurles, October 16th 2022.
Garda cars and private cars are being used to halt access into severely flooded streets.
Premises in Friar Street in the town are also severely flooded, with same currently being viewed by two councillors, and Fianna Fáil TD Mr J. Cahill. (You know the latter named; he’s the farmers friend who does not support current notions on “Climate Change” and “Global Warming”).
However, today is only October 16th and one wonders should residents invest in boats, before the real winter season “swings into play”.
No doubt Local Municipal District Councillors and Officials, with red faces, will discuss the issue tomorrow, before washing their hands of the matter; to blame and make demands on Irish Water, who were never involved in any updated installation. [Time to bring former Town Clerk Mr Michael Ryan out of retirement.]
NOTE: Warning was given in August 2022 HERE with video evidence; again in August 2022 HERE, and in February 2022 HERE, by Thurles.Info.
The water quality of our rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal areas continues to decline, says Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Water quality in Ireland has further declined. While improvements are being made in some areas, these are being offset by declines in water quality elsewhere.
At the current level of progress, Ireland will fail to meet the EU and national goal of restoring all waters to good or better status by 2027.
Only just over half of surface waters (rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters) are in satisfactory condition (that is they are achieving good or high ecological status and are able to sustain healthy ecosystems for fish, insects and plants).
The deterioration in estuaries and coastal waters is mostly along the southeast and southern seaboards and is due to agricultural run-off. Urgent and targeted action is required to reduce nitrogen emissions from agriculture in these areas.
River Suir,Barry’s Bridge, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
Suir estuary has lost its good water quality. Thurles.Info first raised this issue with Tipperary politicians, Tipperary County Councillors and the EPA, nine years ago, starting on November 7th, 2013. Our claims were denied. See also Here(April 2019). See Here(July 2018) etc. etc. Instead Tipperary County Councillors, lead by Fianna Fáil Councillor Mr Seamus Hanafin, ignored the river Suir, choosing instead to spread a 3 metre wide strip of tarmacadam on the river bank destroying existing biodiversity and local history.
Domestic Sewage water allowed to flow continuously into River Suir, at Thurles , Co. Tipperary.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published the Water Quality in Ireland Report 2016-2021 which provides the latest assessment of the quality of Ireland’s rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastal and groundwaters. The report shows that water quality in Ireland is not as good as it should be. Only just over half of rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters are in satisfactory condition. The overall ecological health of these surface waters has declined across all water body types since the last assessment (2013-2018). This means these water bodies are less able to support healthy ecosystems for fish, insects and plants.
While the decline in water quality of our rivers and lakes is relatively small (1% and 3% of waterbodies respectively), the number of estuaries and coastal water bodies in satisfactory condition has decreased by almost 16% and 10% respectively.
These declines are mostly along the southeast and southern coasts where nitrogen emissions from agricultural activities are having a significant negative impact on water quality. Excess nitrogen causes algal blooms in our estuaries which can damage the ecosystem, and excess nitrogen in drinking water can pose a risk to human health.
Commenting on the report, Dr Eimear Cotter, Director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment, said: “The scale of the declines in our estuaries and coastal waters is alarming. In recent years the EPA highlighted that nutrient levels in our rivers and groundwaters are too high and that trends were going in the wrong direction. We are now seeing the impact of these emissions on our estuaries and coastal waters. Areas such as Cork Harbour, Wexford Harbour and the Slaney, Suir and Nore estuaries have lost their good water quality status. This directly impacts the marine biodiversity and ecological value in these areas”.
The report highlights that since the last assessment published in 2019, the number of monitored water bodies in satisfactory condition has declined by:
1% in rivers,
3% in lakes,
16% in estuaries,
10% in coastal waters.
River Suir,Thurles Foot Bridge areanear ‘Swinging Gates’, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
The main pressures on water quality are agriculture, physical changes such as land drainage and dredging, forestry activities and discharges from urban wastewater. These activities can lead to run-off of nutrients, sediment and pesticides and damage to the physical habitat of waterbodies. The number of waterbodies impacted by urban wastewater remains high, but it is reducing, and the trend is going in the right direction. The number of waterbodies impacted by agriculture has, however, increased in recent years.
Ms Mary Gurrie, Programme Manager, added: “Improvements in water quality are being made, particularly in the priority areas for action where there has been focussed action to restore water quality in the past three years. This shows that improvements to water quality can be made when actions are targeted. However, the gains made are being wiped out by declines in water quality elsewhere”.
The EPA is calling for urgent and targeted action to protect and restore water quality in the next River Basin Management Plan (2022-2027), and full implementation of, and compliance with, the Good Agricultural Practice Regulations.
The full report and a summary report are available on the EPA website. Further information on water quality data and catchment assessments is available HERE.
Firstly, shame on Thurles Elected Politicians, Councillors and the senior officials who over-rule them, within Thurles Municipal District and County Council, all of whom have allowed this beautiful river Suir asset, to fall into a state which resembles that of an unkempt sewer, while claiming to have lost the power to control its continuing deterioration.
The Suir From Its Source to the Sea.
Extract from the book by author L. M. McCreith, (Author of “Cashel of the Kings”.)
“………The gentle Suir, that, making way by Sweet Clonmel, adorns rich Waterford”. Quote taken from Spencer’s “Faerie Queene”*.
OriginallyPrinted by the Clonmel Chronicle Newspaper and Printing Works Ltd. (1848 – 1935)
*The “Faerie Queene” referred, is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser, with over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 stanzas. It remains one of the longest poems in the English language and was presented to Queen Elizabeth I in 1589, probably sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh, latter who was one of the principal landowners and colonists in Munster and who was later beheaded by English King James I.
This extract written in 1912,(110 years ago)states: –
“Some 8 miles from Templemore, spreading itself on both banks of the Suir, is the ancient town of Thurles. The town has a distinctive, old world, almost ecclesiastical, character of its own.
Its name is a corruption of the Irish Durlas, a fortress. In the “Annals of the Four Masters”, we read of a chief of Durlas, by name Maelduin, who was slain in 660 A.D. Thurles was the scene of one of the few signal defeats of the Danes by the Irish. This took place in the 10th century and was long remembered and recorded locally. As has been said, Thurles was also the scene of the defeat of Strongbow, by a coalition of Irish Chiefs in 1174. When Strongbow heard that Connor and Donal Mor we’re advancing against him, he sent to Dublin for help. A contingent of Danish settlers and Norman soldiers, natural allies, came to his assistance. They endeavoured to join him at Thurles, but there, by the banks of the Suir, 1700 of Strongbow,s men were slain. Donal Mor O’Brien was in command that day and it would seem that the field was a fortunate spot to him; for when he returned to that same place 17 years later, to fight another battle against the English, he was again victorious. In 1197 however, 6 years afterwards the English took Thurles and “burnt many churches and temples”.
Among the many notable Norman’s who established themselves in Ireland (and in time became “more Irish than the Irish”), where the Butler’s. Theobald FitzWalter came in the train of Henry II, in 1172. He was kin to Thomas A’ Becket, and it was part of the King’s accepted penance that he should ennoble all the murdered Archbishop’s relatives. Henry II gave FitzWalter large grants of Irish land, in return for which FitzWalter was to act as the King’s chief Butler and to hand him a cup of wine after his coronation. Hence the name of the family.
The Butlers ever remained loyal to the Sovereign, whose vassals they were and were frequently in opposition to the other powerful Norman House, the Fitzgerald’s or Geraldine’s, who are descended from Strongbow’s Knight, son-in-law and right-hand, Raymond le Gros and were represented by the earls of Kildare and Desmond.
The Butlers obtained large possessions in Wicklow and in fertile Tipperary, and early in the 13th century became possessed of Thurles. The Butlers were ever notable as castle-builders and founders of religious houses. They began to build on the banks of the Suir. Within the last half-century there were remains of no fewer than 9 castles in this town.
James Butler was created Earl of Ireland in 1328. About that time (1324) he caused the Castle to be built, the Norman keep of which still guards the bridge across the slow-flowing river. The Butler’s also built or endowed Carmelite and Franciscan monasteries in Thurles and there, as well as Templemore, the knights Templars established a Preceptory. Viscount Thurles still remains the inferior title of the Marquis of Ormonde, the head of the Butler family.
Thurles today is an important and thriving town of about 5,000 inhabitants. It has a notable horse fair and it is the centre of a rich grazing and grain growing district. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cashel and diocese of Emly, and contains a magnificent Roman Catholic Cathedral and a handsome archiepiscopal residence. The bells and the organ of the Cathedral are notably fine. There is also a fine Roman Catholic college, two convents and a monastery, the hole forming as it were a, kind of religious quarter.
Thurles was the scene of the famous Roman Catholic synod in 1850. From Thurles onwards the Suir flows through the county of which the poet Spenser (Edmund) said that it was ‘the richest champagne that may ever be rid’.”
Drinking water quality is high but increased vigilance is needed by Irish Water and Local Authorities to protect public health, says EPA.
The quality of drinking water from public supplies remains high, with over 99.7% of samples compliant with bacterial and chemical limits.
Two significant incidents during 2021 at the Gorey and Ballymore Eustace water treatment plants put the health of approximately 885,000 people at risk, highlighting significant failings in oversight and management by Irish Water.
The number of supplies breaching THM standards increased in 2021, reversing all progress seen in recent years.
Progress to remove lead from drinking water networks is too slow, with the need for stronger leadership at national level.
The number of people served by “at-risk” supplies on the EPA’s Remedial Action List (RAL) has reduced, arising from upgrade works at two large water supplies: Leixlip and Vartry water treatment plants.
Our Lady’s Well, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. Pic: George Willoughby
List of water supplies currently on a Boil Water Notice or Water Restriction in Co. Tipperary as of 28/09/2022 are: – Tipperary – Glenary – Population affected 10,564. Tipperary- Horse & JockeyPWS – Population affected 648. Tipperary- Clonmel – Poulavanogue – Population affected 96.
The EPA Drinking Water Quality in Public Supplies Report 2021, released today, shows that the quality of drinking water in public supplies remains high, with over 99.7% compliance with bacterial and chemical limits. The continued high levels of water quality being achieved are positive for consumers and indicate that water is safe to drink.
However, there were two significant incidents during 2021 at the Gorey and Ballymore Eustace water treatment plants that put the health of approximately 885,000 people at risk, with community illness and hospitalisations occurring in the Gorey incident. These highlighted significant failings in oversight and management by Irish Water and local authorities.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) instructed Irish Water to implement a number of actions at all supplies, to prevent the reoccurrence of similar issues. As a result of these actions, more drinking water quality issues were detected and reported, with the number of Boil Water Notices increasing significantly in the last quarter of 2021. The total number of people affected by Boil Water Notices in 2021 was approx. 211,000.
Launching the report, Dr Tom Ryan, EPA Director said: “The serious incidents at Gorey and Ballymore Eustace water treatment plants last year, which resulted in unsafe water being released for consumption, have highlighted Irish Water’s fundamental obligation to ensure our public water supplies are properly operated, and managed, to protect public health. Increased vigilance is needed by Irish Water and Local Authorities in their oversight and management of plant operations to ensure incidents are dealt with appropriately and in a timely manner.”
Dr Ryan added: “Boil water notices are affecting an increasing number of consumers and while we recognise the challenges these present to individuals and communities, they are necessary to protect public health. High incidences of boil water notices will remain with us until Irish Water improves the resilience of drinking water plants.”
While water is safe today, the EPA’s Remedial Action List of “at-risk” supplies identifies where long-term improvements are needed in our drinking water infrastructure to protect public health. Following EPA targeted enforcement, supplies upgraded in 2021 include Vartry (serves approx. 127,000) and Leixlip (serves approx. 590,000) water treatment plants. At the end of 2021, there were 52 “at-risk” supplies serving approx. 375,000 people down from 1,000,000 consumers in 2020. However, the latest publication of the RAL (Sept 2022) has seen some of this progress eroded, with the population served by “at-risk” supplies increasing to approx. 575,000. Furthermore, the length of time it takes to implement improvements at supplies is not acceptable to the EPA, as it means these supplies remain vulnerable for longer. The EPA requires that Irish Water targets investment and resources to both reduce the number of supplies on the RAL, and the time it takes to implement these improvements. Mr Noel Byrne, EPA Programme Manager, said: “It is welcome to see how targeted enforcement has led to significant improvements at large supplies such as Leixlip and Vartry, supporting the security of these critical water supplies into the future. However, in order for supplies to be secure into the future, Irish Water must resolve the “at-risk” supplies on the RAL and ensure that future actions are targeted where they are most needed to protect public health. In particular, the deterioration in compliance with THM standards needs to be addressed as a matter of priority.”
Lead in drinking water causes a cumulative risk to human health. The EPA is highlighting the slow rate of lead replacement by Irish Water, as it will take almost a quarter of a century to address the risks posed to public health from lead in drinking water at the replacement rate observed in 2021. In addition, leadership is required at a national level by relevant Departments to address this issue. A report from these Departments on assessments of lead pipework in public buildings and plans to remove lead from these buildings is overdue. The EPA Drinking Water Quality in Public Supplies Report 2021 and the complete list of public water supplies currently on the Remedial Action List – including details of the proposed remedial measures and associated timeframes – are available HERE on the EPA website.
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