There’s growing anger in Kilkee as a swimming ban remains in place.
Heavy rain caused a pipe to burst, leading to the discharge of sewage into the sea, and the ban was put in place on Saturday.
It won’t be lifted until Wednesday at least, and this is the second such incident in as many years.
This bathing ban came on the back of advice from the HSE, after heavy rain caused a pipe to burst and pump raw sewage into the sea.
Clare County Council says the red flags will fly until water quality tests are carried out, to allow Irish Water to investigate the issue and it’s expected that it will take until Wednesday for initial tests to be completed.
Two years ago an electrical fault led to similar issues, resulting in the beach to be closed for a week – again, at the height of the tourist season.
Local businessman Dave Neville of NevSail Kilkee has had to turn dozens of customers away on account of the ban.
He says it’s taking it toll on his business, and many others like him.
This weekend two major swimming events, which attracted hundreds of people to the West Clare hotspot had to be cancelled; the Munster Junior Lifesaving Championships and the annual Kilkee Bay Swim.
Local Councillor and businessman Cillian Murphy has criticised Irish Water for failing to carry out routine maintenance on the network.
The Fianna Fáil Councillor fears repeated incidents like this could result in huge reputational harm for Kilkee and surrounding areas.
Irish Water has said that it regrets the impact this may have on beach users.
The utility previously announced plans for a new wastewater treatment plant, but plans are currently only in the design phase, with a completion date of 2021.
