A farmer has appealed to Bord Pleanála a decision by Galway County Council to grant planning permission for a €40 million residential complex for the elderly near Monivea village.
Permission was granted in early June for the purpose-built village which will house more than 450 people.
It is the most ambitious project of its type in Ireland to date.
The project is being developed by Monivea Community Development Co-Op with the support of Coillte, which is providing 48 acres adjacent to the village.
The development will comprise a 100-bedroom community care centre and 122 one- and two-bedroom retirement homes designed for the elderly.
The self-contained village will also include a hotel and leisure centre, a cinema, a library, a doctor's surgery, a restaurant and a credit union.
On-site medical facilities will be provided as well as other domestic services.
Mr Seamus Murphy, who owns the land adjoining part of the wood where the percolation area for the development is proposed, has appealed the council decision to grant permission for the project.
The percolation area is the area outside the septic tank which acts as a natural filter for waste water.
The main grounds of Mr Murphy's appeal relate to the condition of the planning permission that a sand-polishing filter be applied on top of the existing soil, raising the level of the site by one metre.
Mr Murphy, who is in his 80s, claims his land is already subject to periodic flooding from the wood in wet weather, and will be the recipient of any additional water flowing from the percolation area.
Bord na Móna's report on the proposed percolation area, which accompanied the planning application, indicated that up to an additional 200,000 litres of water per day will be passing through the area.
In his appeal, Mr Murphy says: "I keep cattle and sheep on my land, and participate in the REPS scheme which prohibits the poaching of land by the hooves of livestock in wet weather.
"The effect of an extra 200,000 litres of water per day on the condition of the land in wet weather could disqualify me from future participation in REPS, lose me the grant this provides, and adversely affect my ability to manage my land effectively and maximise its production levels."
He also notes his concern about the possibility of the mechanical failure of the treatment plant depending on the percolation area, and the disastrous effect this would have on his land, the surrounding wells and the Killaclogher river, which was known in fishing circles as one of the finest spawning streams in Europe.
