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Inshore Ireland 3.3 June 2007
INSHORE IRELAND Vol 3 nr 3; June 2007
WATER MANAGEMENT
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Spoil heaps: monuments to arterial draining programmes
AS you drive north past the village of Ballinalack, Co. Westmeath, on the Dublin- Sligo road, you cross the River Inny. Spoil heaps adorn the river corridor downstream of the road bridge. Arterial drainage operations involve widening and deepening channels throughout river basins. In schemes completed by 1973 under the 1945 Arterial Drainage Act, excavated material was stockpiled in spoil heaps parallel to the channel. After 1973, spoil was levelled out on riparian lands that were then top-soiled and reseeded. Since the completion of the Boyle scheme in December 1995, however, the Office of Public Works has not initiated any new arterial drainage schemes in Ireland,
writes MARTIN O'FARRELL
The topic of spoil heaps has featured in many humorous Dail debates.
In 1970, for example, parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Finance Noel T. Lemass (FF) commented:
"The drainage works are done primarily for the benefit of farmers, to improve their land. Because of the dumping of spoil and so on, some interference is unavoidable. It is not possible to make an omelet without breaking eggs.''
"Environmental issues would arise from the removal of spoil heaps" - Office of Public Works
James Tully (Labour Party) retorted, however: "But it is not necessary to pile up the shells on the dining-room table?''
Lemass: "Unfortunately, spoil is unavoidable in drainage work. Normally it is deposited as tidily as possible and where possible the wishes of the landowner are consulted as, for instance, whether he would prefer a narrow high heap or a wide low one. Arterial drainage work is costly and I am advised it would become an uneconomic proposition and might even be phased out if it became an obligation on the Commissioners of Public Works to take away all those spoil heaps. The point is that it is not our purpose to leave the country unsightly with spoil heaps. We will keep the matter under review to do as much as we reasonably can to clear those spoil heaps away."
Inland Fisheries Commission report
The Report of the Inland Fisheries Commission (1975) had the following to say about spoil heaps:
"The Commissioners of Public Works have informed us that they have not been provided with funds to enable them to dispose of the spoil resulting from drainage work which in earlier years was usually piled on the river banks. The environmental shortcomings of former schemes still persist and we recommend that the Commissioners be empowered to deal with some at least of these, in the course of its maintenance work following consultation with the rating authorities."
It concluded: The general spoil rehabilitation policy operated by the OPW in carrying out the two schemes was to remove topsoil from adjacent land, spread the material excavated and re-cover with top soil. The landowner was subsequently compensated for the cost of re-seeding the area. In two cases, major rock quantities excavated were taken off site. Smaller rock volumes were piled on banks and farmers compensated for the loss of land.
The 1997 report of the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) on Value for Money Examination of the arterial drainage of the Boyle and Bonet rivers, which was carried out during the years 1982-1992, has a section that deals with spoil deposition and rehabilitation.
Post-project appraisal to assess the environmental effects of the spoil deposition practices is in this case difficult because of the lack of documented information about the pre-drainage status of the flora and fauna of the river banks and the adjacent land where spoil was buried.
I do not know how many kilometres of Irish river corridors are currently blighted by the presence of spoil heaps. According to the 1997 CAG report, a total of £7.9m was spent on maintaining arterial drainage schemes in 1996.
Perhaps the Office of Public Works should consider directing some of its annual drainage maintenance budget towards removing unsightly spoil heaps that are a major blot on the landscape.
The 1999 PriceWaterhouseCoopers report on the arterial drainage maintenance programme (report on measurement of return on investment) lists the following schemes as having been completed by 1973 (an additional 13 minor schemes are listed as having been completed by 1973):
Arterial drainage scheme Duration of work Brosna 1948 Ð 1955 Glyde & Dee 1950 Ð 1957 Feale 1951 Ð 1959 Corrib - Clare 1954 Ð 1964 Maine 1959 Ð 1963 Inny 1960 Ð 1968 Deel 1962 Ð 1968 Moy 1960 Ð 1971 Corrib - Headford 1967 Ð 1973 Nenagh 1955 Ð 1960 Ballyteige-Kilmore 1959 Ð 1961 Broadmeadow-Ward 1961 Ð 1964 Killimor-Cappagh 1962 Ð 1968
'LIMITING and adapting to climate change'; `protecting our water resources' and `integration and enforcement' are key goals identified by the Environmental Protection Agency in its strategy, 2020 Vision: Protecting and Improving Ireland's Environment.
Dr Mary Kelly, EPA directorgeneral, said that strategic planning was a vital exercise for every organisation and that their vision clearly identified what must happen for that vision to become reality.
"We have also specified what the EPA must do in the shorter term, between now and 2010, to ensure that the longer-term vision will be fulfilled,'' she said.
Dr Kelly added that their environmental goals were "fundamental rights" of all Irish citizens.
"In framing these goals, we consulted with many people and organisations, including the public. The vast majority of those who sent in comments as part of the consultation process agreed with and endorsed the goals we have set out today.
"The goals we have selected will inform our organisational strategy over the coming years;
* The Office of Public Works says: "environmental issues would arise'' from the removal of the spoil heaps such as this one outside Ballinalack, Co Westmeath.
INSHORE Ireland put the following question to the Office of Public Works:
In all arterial drainage schemes carried out under the 1945 Arterial Drainage Act and which were completed before 1973 (Brosna, Glyde & Dee, Feale, Corrib- Clare, Maine, Inny, Deel, Moy, Corrib-Headford, Nenagh, Cappagh-Kilcrow etc), spoil dredged from the river bed was heaped on river banks.
These unsightly spoil heaps have been in place for decades and continue to blot the landscape in many parts of the country.
everything we do will be moving towards achieving them. An implementation plan with measurable outcomes has been developed alongside the strategy.''
Focus
Dr Kelly noted, however, that the EPA was one of many players who must act to achieve these environmental goals. ``We want to engage individuals
and other organisations in this important work. The focus is strongly on the external environment and on how the EPA can continue to improve the delivery of positive environmental outcomes. We want to build on our scientific expertise by acting as a proactive, forceful environmental champion with a key focus on environmental management. This focus
A: The OPW do not have any plans to carry out remedial works to remove or rehabilitate the spoil heaps due to cost and environmental considerations.
Q: Has the OPW any plans to remove these spoil heaps? If not, does the OPW consider that their continued presence is acceptable?
is moving us beyond identification of environmental issues towards the active resolution of the root causes,'' she said.
The cost of the works would be significant and it would be difficult to quantify benefit arising from same. Environmental issues would arise in relation to the removal of the spoil, as many spoil heaps would now have significant vegetation, tree growth etc.
* Minister meets with members of the North West Waters Regional Advisory Council (L-R): Helen McLachlann; LorcaÂn O  CinneÂide; Bertie Armstrong; Daniel LeFeÂvre; Hugo Crisanto GonzaÂlez Garcia; Michelle Gildernew (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development); Sam Lambourne and Andre Le Berre.
