RESIDENTS OF the Sheen river valley on the Cork-Kerry border yesterday expressed dismay after county councillors in Tralee voted to approve a water abstraction order for the river Sheen to supply Kenmare 14 kilometres (9 miles) down river.
Councillors voted 14 to seven to approve the water abstraction proposal to supplement Kenmare’s water supply. Councillors were told Kenmare was in danger of running out of water and planning was already “effectively closed down” as a result of the problem.
Director of water services Oliver Ring said both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Health Service Executive were pressurising the council for an early resolution to the problem. The long-running row over where to source extra water for Kenmare had seen the Department of the Environment refuse approval for a water treatment plant.
Cllr Brendan Cronin told the meeting €500,000 had already been spent on consultants’ reports, and this money was required for “old and broken pipes” in other parts of the county. The expert evidence favoured the Sheen river as a source.
County manager Tom Curran said the council had no option but to explore the possibility of sourcing water from the Sheen.
However, local residents and business interests want the council to source the water instead from mountain lakes. Local councillor Patrick O’Connor from Scarteen said locals knew for generations that the Sheen ran dry in summer, while the mountain lakes had plentiful supply. “The Sheen valley community see this proposal as an attack on their lifestyle.”
He said the local fisheries board also had grave concerns about the Sheen as a source because of the potential impact on wild salmon stocks.
Residents who attended yesterday’s meeting expressed their disappointment at the decision. One farmer said the proposal would mean extra restrictions on their farming activities and on building homes for their families.
The proposal will now go to An Bord Pleanála, which is likely to hold an oral hearing.