Donegal water supplythreatened by tonnes of hazardous waste

Tonnes of hazardous waste have been dumped beside a lough which provides water to a large area of Co Donegal.

Tonnes of hazardous waste have been dumped beside a lough which provides water to a large area of Co Donegal.

Donegal County Council yesterday said continued illegal dumping at Lough Fad could have serious consequences for the quality of the water supply in the county.

Lough Fad provides water to homes and businesses in an area stretching from Muff to Moville in the Inishowen peninsula.

Among the items dumped at the site near Redcastle were oil drums, paint tins, paint thinner and car parts. Six lorry loads of waste weighing more than 200 tonnes had to be removed from the area around Lough Fad.

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The waste was a mixture of household and commercial rubbish.

The council has launched an investigation into the matter and it is understood a number of fines have been issued.

Suzanne Tinney, the council's waste enforcement officer, said people had no excuse for dumping illegally, given the level of recycling and legal dumping facilities in the county.

"Illegal dumping of any kind cannot be tolerated, but this case is particularly shocking," she said.

"The continued dumping of materials such as dirty nappies, oil drums, thinners and paint tins could have serious consequences for the future quality of the water supply," she added.