Dump Polluting Enniskerry Drinking Water

A north county Wicklow dump which had been operating outside the terms of its planning permission has polluted local groundwater, according to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report.

According to the report the pollution includes levels of chemicals including manganese, nickel, barium and potassium that exceed allowable drinking water limits. Both the EPA and Wicklow County Council are conducting further tests to assess the extent of the pollution and the risk to drinking water in the area.

Dump Pollutes Drinking Water

The pollution may have a significant affect as the dump is located over an important aquifer which provides drinking water to many homes around Enniskerry. Pollution has also been found in local streams, including the Countybrook river, a tributary of the Dargle. The Glencullen river, which is about 600 metres from the dump, may also be at risk.

The 16-acre dump at Killegar was granted planning permission for "dry, non-toxic solid waste". However, according to the EPA it accepted domestic, commercial and industrial waste from waste contractors in Dublin and north Wicklow - outside of the terms of its planning permission. Local people say that the dump continued to operate after its planning permission expired in 1999 and they have information on lorries and dates and times of deliveries. The EPA says that the capping of the landfill has not been completed and an inspection last May noted leachate seepage from slopes of the waste body.

The EPA report comes shortly after the release of several studies showing a risk of higher birth defects among children whose mothers live close to landfills.