Galway Bay fm newsroom - The City Council Executive has hit out at what it described as 'errors' in a recent An Taisce report.
The report in question was released in December of last year and alleged that large quantities of sewage are entering the River Corrib and Galway Bay - a claim which the city council executive strenuously denies.
At this week’s meeting of Galway City Council, the Council Executive denounced the finding of An Taisce’s December water report and stated that it contained numerous ‘errors.’
In a report issued to Councillors ahead of the meeting, the executive said figures quoted in the report that 35 swimming pools per month of raw sewage is discharging from a pipe into Galway Bay are ‘incorrect and greatly exaggerated’.
City Council Senior Executive Engineer Lieze Fanning told this week’s meeting that this estimation had been exaggerated roughly tenfold.
Another finding which the Local Authority argues is incorrect relates to alleged capacity issues at the Mutton Island Wastewater Treatment plant.
An Taisce claims Mutton Island does not have the capacity to treat wastewater from its current catchment area and its current population, let alone any increase in population in the area.
The Council Executive has confirmed that the facility is currently serving 103,000 population equivalent and has capacity to serve up to 170,000 PE.
The City Chief Executive Brendan McGrath told the meeting this makes Mutton Island capable of serving Galway city and all future development in the catchment area in the short to medium term.
He told to Councillors he wished An Taisce had consulted with the Local Authority before publishing the report.
