Inishowen beauty spots negatively impacted by slurry pollution

A major pollution incident in Inishowen is the result of a practice which is suspected to have been ongoing for 12 or 13 years, according to a local resident.

On Friday evening, Cllr Terry Crossan was contacted by a concerned member of the public who had been out walking and discovered a large amount of slurry, which had apparently been dumped into Lough Swilly, at the Farland Bank causeway at Inch.

Speaking to Donegal Live, Cllr Crossan said he had contacted the Chief Environmental Officer as a matter of urgency and had also spoken to Dr Joe Ferry, Donegal County Council's Executive Chemist and Andrew Speer, the local Conservation Ranger.
According to Cllr Crossan, Dr Ferry was to send people out to the site of the suspected slurry dump to take samples.

Cllr Crossan said: “I would like to know where the slurry is emanating from because, according to members of the local community, it is causing problems right down as far as the marina in Fahan and the stretch of beach which is very close to the marina.

“The slurry was deposited on the sea side of the Farland Bank causeway, therefore it is going to be subject to the rise and fall of the tide. In addition, if there is any wave action, the wave action will dissipate the slurry very quickly and it will just go into the main water mass.

“I got a call on Friday afternoon from a man who was out walking at Inch Lake. The first thing that attracted his attention was the strong smell of slurry and, on closer examination, he discovered a large amount of slurry had been discharged on the Swilly side of the Farland Bank Causeway and was clearly visible on the rocks and in the water.

“Clearly Inch is a very important area in terms of migratory birds and the people who walk and use that whole Walkway are acutely environmentally aware and they are not going to overlook any of this.

“When people call you me, I have a duty of care to act and investigate and see exactly what has happened here and if it can be avoided from happening again. The man who rang me, lives in rural Inishowen would know slurry, no question.”
Former FG Senator Catherine Noone, who is based in Fahan, posted a video on social media on Tuesday showing slurry clearly visible in the water.

Ms Noone said: “This is the worst we've seen. It is absolutely disgusting. I spent my first summer in Fahan last year and I was shocked by it. It affects people on Inch Island. It affects Fahan very negatively and it affects the Marina.

“We think it has been going on about 12 or 13 years. It really has to stop it is disgusting. It is unhealthy. It is unsafe.

“Children whose parents know don't let them bathe in there, at certain times and people who don't know go in there.

“There is a glar there, muddy sand, and when the tide goes out, it is very dangerous. I am not saying it is solely down to the cow effluent but it is certainly an issue.

“For local residents it is something we feel very aggrieved about. It is so preventable. We believe a farm locally is either cleaning their farm [plant] into the water or they are just emitting slurry into the water.

“The County Council is well placed to find people to investigate the matter. It doesn't take a rocket scientist. There was actually bits of straw in the water. So that is not coming from human effluent.

“It is coming from a farm and whether it is been done neglectfully, intentionally we don't care about the reason. We just want it to stop.

“All residents around the area would just be pleased to have clean water.

“It happens at certain times of the day. It clearly happened early on Tuesday.

“There are little yellow flies in the water that come from cow dung as opposed to flies that naturally occur in the water.

“If the Council as a body are willing to let this go on for years and years while it is aware of it, it doesn't bode well for other areas," said Ms Noone.