Kilkenny County Council has been accused of continuing to pollute the River Nore in what has been described by residents as an unfolding ecological disaster.
Sludge containing a cocktail of chemicals has been pouring into the river since last week from the Purcellsinch water treatment plant, off the Carlow Road in Kilkenny city.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it was "alarmed" by the ongoing discharges into the river, and filmed the discharge as it occurred on Friday last.
However, the council claimed yesterday that the problem was caused by a company which uses the facility.
It said it was up to the EPA to investigate the matter as it had granted the emissions licence to the company.
The council's director of environmental services, Mr Tom Gunning, admitted there had been a problem since last Thursday at the facility.
On that day, the EPA was called and had appraised the situation in the presence of Smithwicks brewery executives.
On Friday the situation worsened and more sludge entered the river.
There was another continuous discharge on Monday of this week.
This is the fourth time in the last seven months that pollution has occurred at the water treatment plant which opened more than 25 years ago.
The EPA has said the discharges could pose a serious pollution risk to the salmon river.
Mr Gunning said that material with a high alkaline content was entering the system and that the source had been passed on to the EPA, and that it was a matter for the EPA .
Asked when the pollution would stop, Mr Gunning said it could take a few days to clear.
The people living and running businesses on the Sion Road, off the Carlow Road, Kilkenny, say they are extremely concerned, and that the pollution from the Purcellsinch plant has been occurring on an almost daily basis.
The council has applied to the Department of the Environment for €6 million to upgrade the plant.