Scribblestown stream, the Swan River network, the Camac Race, Glib Water and City Wall Ditch are enigmatic names for some of the many watercourses in what is now Greater Dublin.
Ten years ago, more than 40 of these streams and rivers were identified. Ten years later, some of these mapped by the late Ms Clair L. Sweeney* could be under serious threat from motorway routes, identified as a priority under the National Development Plan (NDP).
Dublin's housing expansion into parts of the midlands is also putting serious pressure on the inland waterway environment, according to the chief executive of the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board (ERFB), Mr Alan McGurdy.
It hasn't happened overnight. Three years ago today, the ERFB wrote to the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, to express concern over the potentially negative impact of major road development, within the definition of the 1993 Road Act, on fisheries interests.
It pointed out that whereas fisheries boards were notified by local authorities about most road plans, and given a copy of the appropriate environmental impact statement, this did not apply to major road developments which were specifically excluded from these requirements.
Section 51 (3) (b) of the Act required a road authority to send a copy of its environmental impact statement, together with a notice in the prescribed form, to the Commissioners of Public Works, Bord Failte, An Taisce and any other prescribed body or person.
The Minister had added the Arts Council and the National Monuments Advisory Council, and any local authority within the affected area to this list. However, the regional fisheries boards were not included and the Department of the Environment has no comment to make on the board's case.
Mr McGurdy regards the omission as a major flaw in the Roads Acts, and one which has serious implications for fisheries. The board has already been forced to take legal action against several developers. Some developers have learned from the experience even though District Court penalties are relatively light, even when parties are found guilty of interfering with fish spawning.
The board held up the Kinnegad bypass for six months due to concerns over the impact on the Kinnegad river which has a salmon stock. "There are certain times of the year when spawning is occurring, and it is completely insensitive to carry out any major works. Developers can actually save money if they consult us in advance," says Mr McGurdy.
Back in July 1994, a silt charge resulting from preparatory works as part of the Northern Cross Motorway resulted in a fish kill at Abbotstown, west Dublin. Jons Civil Engineering, of Duleek, Co Meath, was sued by the fisheries board and since then it has consulted closely with the ERFB in relation to development works.
The rate of housing development, and Dublin's expansion outside county boundaries, has also put severe pressure on the ERFB in relation to its statutory functions.
"We don't oppose building as long as the appropriate sewage treatment is in place by the time the houses come on the market," Mr McGurdy says.
For this reason, it has lodged objections to recent developments in Edenderry, Co Offaly, including a hotel and residential units on the Dublin road, and housing on St Mary's Road, St Bridget's Road and Derrycoris. Its stance has been supported in An Bord Pleanala rulings.
Part of the problem is lack of awareness on the part of the construction industry, says Mr McGurdy. "Streams are often seen as a hazard, particularly when new housing estates are being built. But burying streams can affect river systems because streams contribute to insect life and the habitat of fish. We estimate that a couple of streams are being lost in and around Dublin every year."
Culverting the stream, as some developers propose, makes it difficult to check water quality, says the ERFB. It has co-operated with the construction industry on realigning streams and has tried to influence county development plans to ensure that streams are kept at surface level where possible.
"We prefer bridges to culverts but there are some cases where culverts are unavoidable."
An EU-funded Department of the Environment initiative, known as the Three Rivers Project, aims to protect the major watercourses under the EU phosphorus directive for catchment management. Major rivers like the Liffey are under constant pressure but the minor tributaries and streams require vigilance.
Ms Gretta Hannigan, senior fisheries environmental officer with the ERFB, is concerned that the situation is going to get worse due to the pace of Dublin's development.
There have been some success stories (as outlined in the adjoining panel) but it has been a constant battle and one occupying a major segment of the fisheries board's slim resources. And there are other anomalies in a system designed to protect water quality relating to industrial development. For instance, the fisheries boards cannot prosecute for pollution where the alleged source holds a licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
* The Rivers of Dublin by Clair L. Sweeney, published by Dublin Corporation, 1991