Municipal District: 17th January 2019

Question: Can the council confirm its plans in 2020 to improve the monitoring of waterways in the Celbridge-Leixlip Municipal District and enforcement of pollution control laws? 

Report: The council and the EPA monitor a number of water bodies in the Celbridge-Leixlip Municipal District including the River Liffey and the Rye Water. 

The monitoring program under the Water Framework Directive is carried out by the council 5 times per year on Operational Sites and 12 times per year on Surveillance Sites. The Operational Sites in the Municipal District are: “Bridge in Celbridge”, “New Bridge (N of St. Wolstan’s)”, “Leixlip Bridge RHS” all on the River Liffey and ‘Bridge in Leixlip” on the Rye Water, while the Surveillance Site is located on the Rye Water at ‘Kildare Bridge’. 

The water quality monitoring data is available on: https://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/water/ and the website https://www.catchments.ie/

__________________

Follow up: I noted at the meeting that further information was required and that the question was not responded to in full or adequate detail. No information on enforcement was provided. I specifically asked how individuals could raise pollution issues and see enforcement action. I gave the example of Glyphosate spraying along water courses in Celbridge in 2018 and how the Council both responded to that and how they aim to monitor and prevent a recurrence in 2019. The Council have committed to providing further information which will be posted here once received.