Malfunctioning equipment at a sewage pumping station has caused the first serious fish kill this summer in the west. Several hundred wild brown trout and some salmon fry and parr have been killed by the pollution leak on a stretch of the Clarin river, close to the Co Galway walled heritage town of Athenry.
Galway County Council confirmed yesterday that it was caused by discharge from one of its sewage-pumping stations due to an equipment malfunction. "Remedial action was taken to ensure that no further discharge would occur," the local authority said yesterday in a statement.
"Following consultation with the Western Regional Fisheries Board, additional steps were taken to minimise the pollution potential of the discharge."
The pollution was still moving down river yesterday in an area frequented by children in the summer, said Dr Greg Forde, Western Regional Fisheries Board's acting chief executive officer. "We have referred this issue to the local authority and hope the public will be informed."
Five species of fish were identified by Dr Forde and his staff, including brook lampreys, a protected species, at least one juvenile salmon, minnows and sticklebacks.
"The resident wild brown trout population has been badly hit," he said. "Some of the fish were four-years-old, which means that it will take up to that time for the stock to recover," Dr Forde told The Irish Times.
It is expected that the fisheries board will bring a prosecution over the incident, which it has described as "the most serious in the region this year". It must "serve as a warning that in such very low waters and high temperatures, it takes very little to tip the balance".
Dr Forde has called on local authorities, farmers and developers to be particularly vigilant.