Duncan angered as council confirms Brosna pollution

“Sometimes you don't need chemical or water testing. sometimes your eye is good enough, and I'm looking at water quality and Lough Ennell a very long time; Butler's Bridge, I'm looking [at] over a very long time, and I know that there's a problem there.”

This firmly worded assertion was made by Cllr Andrew Duncan at the July meeting of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad. He was reacting to council confirmation that there are problems with the quality of the water in the River Brosna.

The Fine Gael man had formally requested the results of tests indicating any water quality issues in the River Brosna, specifically but not limited to PFAS (chemicals) monitoring.

“I have to say this is something that I'm hugely concerned about,” he stated.

The response provided by the council said that under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) monitoring programme, the Brosna is monitored on a regular basis, with quarterly sampling undertaken at several locations. These are analysed in an EPA-accredited lab and the data is used to establish the status and quality of the water.

“The most recent available results record water quality to be ‘moderate’ (downstream from Lough Ennell) and ‘poor’ (upstream from Butler’s Bridge),” the response said, stating that the factors driving classification here were the poor ecological status recorded during 2016 to 2021.

On the question of PFAS, the response confirmed that an EPA sampling campaign in 2017/2018 did detect PFAS in the River Brosna.

Further sampling, carried out in 2021 and 2022 again, indicated that the River Brosna is impacted by PFAS and required further investigation.

The response went on to explain that PFAS are a large group of man-made chemicals which have been used in industrial and consumer products since the 1950s and are found in everyday products. It added that the council is to continue to liaise with the EPA on any identified actions, including increased monitoring and potential source identification.

Cllr Duncan said the response provided by the council threw up a lot more questions than answers: “The water quality downstream of Lough Ennell is regarded as moderate, and upstream from Butler's Bridge is regarded as poor,” he said, stating that a “poor” designation from the EPA is something all should be very worried about.

The Fine Gael man said he has been sounding the alarm bells over this for a while, and expressed surprise that the water analysis reports for Ennell have been showing the water quality as being okay.

In consequence, he continued, he would like to see all the readings taken in both Lough Ennell and the River Brosna in the last ten years.

Responding, director of services David Jones said there would be a lot of work involved in compiling this, but he would ask the council's environment section to make whatever data it has on Lough Ennell available.

Cllr Duncan said that in the past, Westmeath County Council had treated Lough Ennell “like its own personal cesspit”.

“I'm not saying that's the case at the moment but it certainly was the case.

“We should be very concerned about this report. A poor water quality result is something that we should all be very worried about and it requires a sustained, consistent investigation until we find out the source.”