Claims that Inny is a "dead" river

A claim that a six mile stretch of the River Inny is, effectively 'dead' has been made by the Westmeath Environmental Group - and they say that Lough Derravaragh is now under threat as well.According to the group, people living locally have complained to Westmeath County Council for years about pollution of the river, but to no avail, with the result that the river has been left bereft of freshwater fish and wildlife.The matter was raised at a meeting of Mullingar Town Council on Thursday night last, when Cllr. Ruth Illingworth and Betty Doran both voiced their concerns about the health of the Inny system.Cllr. Illingworth said that she had liaised with Westmeath County Council"s Environment Section and Shannon Regional Fisheries Board inspector, Mr. Matt Nolan.The Fine Gael councillor said that the bog at Coolnagun - along the banks of the Inny - is worked by two companies, one of them from Northern Ireland, and both of them 'not employing many locals'.She produced photographs which appeared to show 'no gap between the river, and the extraction of peat'.'It"s not that many years ago that the Inny held an international competition on its banks, and now it"s destroyed,' said Cllr. Illingworth. 'Lough Derravaragh is one of our major tourist attractions, and now it"s being destroyed too.'Cllr. Illingworth said that a 'broad inspection' of the Inny was required, to ensure that those extracting peat near the Inny are 'forced to work within the law'.Former Green councillor Betty Doran said the pollution of the river with peat had 'practically finished Lough Derravaragh as an angling lake'.'There seems to be no law to stop these people,' she remarked. 'And yet a law can be brought in to stop people from cutting turf for domestic use.'Cllr. Jim Bourke (Fianna Fáil) wondered if peat extraction at Coolnagun could be stopped while the situation is assessed, and he resolved to call an emergency meeting of the Council"s Environment SPC to discuss the matter.Dead zoneIn a report sent to both the Environmental Protection Agency and to the Department of the Environment, Westmeath Environmental Group established in 1997 said:'To all intents and purposes, the six mile stretch of the River Inny at Coolnagun has become a dead zone with only minimal traces of fish or insect life surviving.'Westmeath County Council is currently carrying out an inspection of the area, but Westmeath Environmental Group say while the water flowing today may run clear and clean, the peat-coated bed of the river is still dead.Once upon a timeJust twenty two years ago the river at Coolnagun was so clean and rich in many fish species such as pike, roach, perch, eel and trout, that it was chosen to host the World Junior Freshwater Fishing Championships.At that time, the surrounding bog was a haven for wildlife of all descriptions - grouse, hawk, lark, even cuckoo - and a famous breeding ground for the now "protected" frog as well as every form of insect life vital to the survival of so many species.In the report, the Westmeath Environmental Group explains how today there are drains cut every 25-30 metres along the river and large areas have been drained, with the peat extracted down to base rock level, stripping all the material rich in nutrients away.'The wash-off of loose peat should go through settling beds so that only clean water moves on to the river.The beds at Coolnagun are farcically inadequate and the fine, loose, peat moves straight into the Inny - as does the highly acidic water from the drainage,' said the report. 'On top of all that, there is no screening whatever to prevent wind-blown peat dust, raised by machinery, from also reaching the river.''The dead river used to provide spawning beds for the Derravaragh trout - now apparently gone, as Derravaragh itself is practically finished as an angling lake.'Grave position'The position is obviously beyond grave,' said Richard Murphy, PRO for the Westmeath Environmental Group, 'And we have asked Westmeath County Council to investigate and to take action.'We know that local people have complained and reported to the Council for at least the last eight years or so without result - but we can hope,' he continued.'We have already discussed the situation with the Environmental Protection Agency who will look into the matter if the Council action or response is not satisfactory. It is our belief that the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government should also become directly involved.