The environmental group Coastwatch has criticised the delay in fixing a pipe break that led to the discharge of raw sewage into the middle of Burrow Beach, Sutton, north Dublin, over recent weeks.
The discharge, according to locals, was ongoing for three weeks but it took until Wednesday before temporary repairs were undertaken after coastal erosion exposed and broke a pipe, bringing raw sewage through the bathing water area.
The normally hidden standard modern pipe is designed to run under the beach and connect to a box linked to the local sewer system at low water level, but sewage was found midshore “where any child or dog could reach it”, said Karin Dubsky, co-ordinator of Coastwatch.
Uisce Éireann and Fingal County Council were alerted to the issue on Sunday morning by a Coastwatch volunteer, who detailed the location and sent photographs.
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Ms Dubsky said the pipe should have been rerouted as a matter of urgency or fixed and, at the very least, there should have been a public health warning sign erected at the location. The temporary repair using duck tape and pinning the pipe down was unacceptable “as the next storm will dislodge it again”.
A sample taken by Coastwatch on Monday and analysed in Trinity College Dublin confirmed the presence of raw domestic wastewater. “There were too many total coliform bacteria and too many E.coli to count in the raw and first dilution sample,” she said.
“This case raises issues about unauthorised discharges to our high value coastal waters,” Ms Dubsky said.
Sutton beach is part of a Natura 2000 site and an important bathing water location.
The incident yet again highlights a problem when members of the public alert authorities on environmental problems and get no update, she said. “They have no idea what happens to their alerts. This needs to be addressed,” she said.
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Uisce Éireann said it was aware of a leak from a third party private sewer line along the Sutton beach.
In a statement, it added: “We are assisting the private owners of the pipe in implementing a temporary repair, with further investigations planned to explore options for a more sustainable, long-term solution. While this is private infrastructure, Uisce Éireann is intervening in the interest of public safety and environmental protection.”
The council said Uisce Éireann has sole responsibility for the public sewer network.
