Local group opposes Kildare dump plan

Plans to locate a dump between Robertstown and the Hill of Allen in Co Kildare are being contested amid claims that it could lead to contamination of drinking water and pollution in the River Barrow and the Grand Canal.

Kildare County Council is testing water from the Robertstown aquifer with the hope of extracting 50,000 gallons per hour to serve the recent growth in population in east Kildare. Initial testing has proved satisfactory and plans to pump water to an existing reservoir on the Hill of Allen are advancing.

However, the council has also selected a bog in the townlands of Newtown, Don ore, Mylerstown and Coolaght between Robertstown and the Hill of Allen as one of three possible sites for a dump to serve the county over the next 20 years.

Now some locals, the Robertstown Countryside Conservation Group, is campaigning against the proposed dump, claiming the bog drains into water courses which lead to important waterways in the region.

According to Mr Con Morrin, spokesman for the Countryside Conservation Group, the proposed dump has the potential to pollute the Liffey, which is to the south-east of the site, the Barrow via the Old Barrow line extension of the Grand Canal, and the canal itself.

The group says drinking water is already being extracted from the Liffey at Leixlip.

Mr Morrin said lechate from the dump could also cause fish kills and damage tourism connected with the canal heritage. "Some of the streams around here flow on to Lowtown Lock and on via the River Slate into the Barrow. One of the streams flows from Lowtown into the Grand Canal."

Kildare's county development plan says the area is a high amenity area and particularly mentions the view from the Hill of Allen which is just 3 km from there.

The Countryside Conservation Group has hired a team of experts to build a case with which it hopes to influence the members of Kildare County Council who will vote on the proposed three locations later this year, possibly as early as September.

The group also cites the poor quality of the local road network, which principally comprises small roads without footpaths. Mr Morrin says the proposal to dump Kildare's waste would involve 200 lorry movements each day.

The group maintains the council has no plans to upgrade the road infrastructure in the area, and even if it did, it would be inappropriate in an area where there is a local national school. It also claims the council has not considered carefully enough the possibility of a fire at the dump and its effect on the surrounding peatland.

However, Kildare County Council says it will not make any comment on specific sites pending determination of the most suitable location by its consultants.

A council spokesman said the decision would take into account the "full range" of environmental factors. But he insisted the problems of waste management would have to be faced.

"The county has a landfill outside Kilcullen which is rapidly reaching the end of its life-span. We have been negotiating with the Dublin local authorities to use their facility at Arthurstown near Kill for managed waste.

"Consultants seeking a suitable landfill have looked at about 80 sites and have narrowed this down to three and these are being examined by reference to the appropriate criteria. There is no decision yet.

"We will obviously be considering the impact of the site in terms of the local environment but that is not to say that this particular site is ruled in or out. It would be misleading or premature to get into a debate now in advance of the consultants indicating which is the preferred site."

The spokesman said the total waste tonnage for Kildare was 110,000 tonnes per year but he said this figure would reduce when targets for recycling, reuse and waste reduction were met.

"It is important to say that the landfill is for residual waste only," he added.