Picture: Valerie O’Sullivan
ASSURANCES have been given that the waste water treatment plant which services Killarney is working well within capacity with €275,000 spent on capital replacement maintenance in 2017 and a further €155,000 approved to increase capacity, improve efficiency and reduce energy costs.
The matter had been raised by Cllr Donal Grady who asked for a cash injection for the plant which, he understood, was in need of upgrading.
Kerry County Council officials told Cllr Grady that Irish Water has full ownership and control of the Killarney waste water treatment plant and the local authority was merely a water services agent for the national utility.
“The plant, which is operated and maintained to the highest standards, is designed for a population equivalent of 54,000 and is working well within capacity,” a spokesperson said.
In 2017 the average loading in terms of population equivalent was 29,068 with a peak of 44,711.
The council said the discharges from the plant to the Folly Stream, at a point approximately one kilometre from Lough Leane – a popular lake for fishing – are licensed and regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency and there have been no breaches of discharge limits parameters.
Council officials reported that Irish Water is planning to improve the efficiency of the remaining assertion tanks at the facility and it is anticipated that work will commence later this year.
Irish Water and Kerry County Council are also proceeding with a Killarney drainage plan which will involve a detailed assessment of the existing sewer networks.
This time last year data acquired through monitoring undertaken by Kerry County Council and the Environmental Protection Agency found the Folly Steam entering Ross Bay to be ‘mildly enriched’ but the Killarney Wastewater Treatment Plant was fully compliant with the urban wastewater directive and the emission limit values.
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