Limerick angling club left feeling 'demoralised' after another pollution incident in spawning river

MULTIPLE investigations have been launched following a spill from Kilmallock Water Treatment Plant into the River Loobagh.

An EPA spokesperson confirmed Uisce Éireann notified the agency on Friday, November 28 of “a quantity of aluminium sulphate being discharged into the river via a sludge holding tank”.

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The EPA’s investigation into the cause of the spill of the coagulating agent in water purification is ongoing.

An Uisce Eireann spokesperson said following a technical issue at Kilmallock Water Treatment Plant, there was a discharge into River Loobagh last week. 

“Having identified the issue on site, the plant operator acted to resolve the issue. At this stage, following initial investigations, there are no reports or indications of a fish kill in the receiving waters.

"Investigations are ongoing and Uisce Éireann is co-operating fully with Inland Fisheries Ireland and the Environmental Protection Agency,” said the Uisce Eireann spokesperson.

“We would also like to assure the community that there has been no impact on the quality of drinking water,” they added.

Inland Fisheries Ireland has confirmed there was no fish kill.

The River Loobagh has been subject to a number of pollution incidents in recent years. 

In 2014, up to 1,000 salmon and trout in the river were killed following a slurry spill. 

Eamonn O Riordan, chairman of Kilmallock/ Kilfinane Anglers Association, said this latest incident is very demoralising for the local angling club considering the amount of work and commitment to restoring the river following on from the major fish kill in August of 2014.

It was a member of the club who spotted the discolouration in the water and contacted the authorities. Mr O’Riordan said a video shows eels struggling against the current, in the  murky water.

“Eels are normally bottom of the river dwellers and rarely come to the surface as witnessed in the video. At present  thankfully there is no evidence of a fish kill, however with the high water at present there is a possibility of what I  would label as an invisible fish kill. 

“Mainly the death of the most vulnerable fish in the river i.e the fry of both salmon and trout hatching out at this time of year. 

“These juvenile fish are particularly vulnerable to any pollutant in the river and if affected they die and are rapidly washed away with the high water presently in the river, thus leaving no evidence of a fish kill.”

The second concern Mr O’Riordan is “for what must be the most endangered freshwater fish at present, namely our Irish wild Atlantic salmon”.

“Thirty years ago the numbers of salmon returning  to our rivers was estimated at 1.2 million, today that number is dramatically down to 170,000 fish. The Loobagh is an important spawning river for these fish.

“With numbers plummeting over recent years, the importance of protecting the few remaining  fish cannot be overstated. Redds - the beds in which the salmon lay their eggs - are located directly below the outflow where this incident  occurred. 

“These beds containing the precious eggs,are also highly susceptible to contaminated water. Any sediment deposited on top of these  redds from polluted water smothers the eggs leading to their demise.”

Mr O’Riordan says the governments of this country have a poor record when it comes to protecting our waterways.

“From 2023 to 2024 records from Inland Fisheries Ireland show 30 fish kills with an estimated 19,000 fish wiped out. Records for 2025 will be a lot worse with an estimated  35,000 fish killed on the Blackwater alone this Summer.

“A look at a geological map of Ireland will show the vast quantities of rivers and lakes criss-crossing the country like arteries flowing to the sea.

“It is about time we started treating these arteries as we do the arteries  of our bodies, instead of allowing them to be the conduit to dispose of our human, agricultural  and industrial waste,” concluded Mr O’Riordan.