Massgoers met with sewage on Athlone streets

Shocked massgoers who left The Friary on Sunday morning after 11am mass were faced with raw sewage flowing on the streets and in The Strand carpark. Sewage flowed into the Shannon and into gardens for some 26 hours after it burst through the manholes in The Strand area on Sunday morning. The latest incident involving sewage leaking into the Shannon had led to renewed calls for work on the long-awaited Athlone Main Drainage Scheme for the town. The problem arose at about 11.30am on Sunday when people leaving mass in The Friary were forced to walk through the raw sewage to return to their cars parked in The Strand carpark, with many worried that the sewage posed a health risk. The sewage also flowed into gardens in the area and residents were concerned that it would get into their homes. Fr Brian from the Friary explained that the sewage had also flowed into the Friary garden and remnants of the sewage remained in the garden yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon. Chairman of the Griffith Street, Wolfe Tone Terrace and Strand Street Residents Association Tommy Connaughton explained raw sewage had burst through the manholes and he was forced to walk up the hill and around in order to get home. However, those who had already parked in The Strand carpark had no option but to walk through the raw sewage. Mr Connaughton explained that this has happened before in the area and said as development progressed over the years the problem had worsened. Chairman of Save Our Lough Ree Harry Waterstone, who lives on Griffith Street, said the sewage had burst through the manholes due to the inadequate infrastructure and while the council was contacted on Sunday, the situation was not resolved until lunchtime on Monday. 'It was bubbling up at The Strand and into people"s gardens. This is a highly-used pedestrian route and people were walking through raw sewage,' said Mr Waterstone. He criticised the fact that nothing had been done on the Main Drainage Scheme and said he strongly suspected that the treatment plant at Golden Island had passed its sell-by date. Mr Waterstone said there was a problem with raw sewage flowing into the Shannon every time there was heavy rainfall. 'If we get thundery rain with TriAthlone you can imagine the embarrassment,' he said. 'It"s a pity for the town, this lets the whole show down. With all the efforts people made to promote the town, all that"s needed is one thunder shower and it"s all gone.' Cllr Mick O"Connell (FG), who was contacted by residents in the area on Sunday, said: 'Until the Main Drainage Scheme is completed it"s highly likely we"re going to see drainage and sewage problems in the town.' He added that it was hard to see when the project would be completed due to the current economic crisis and said it had taken quite some time to progress through the bureaucracy of the Department of the Environment thus far. 'It"s appalling. I"m fearful for how long Athlone will have to face such problems,' he said. Director of Services for the Athlone area Barry Kehoe told the Westmeath Independent yesterday the problem had occurred when a sewer became blocked by grease. 'This is an ongoing problem in the town and one we intend to address with the various catering establishments and hotels,' he said. 'The problem is there is too much grease getting into the sewerage system.' He said the council had dealt with the issue as quickly as it could and he would investigate if there had been any damage to property as a result.