Large numbers of fish have been killed in the contaminated waters of the Blackwater. What caused the pollution?
Salmon, trout, coarse fish and eels are dying in their thousands in the Cork river.
In ten days, one million fish died in a 24 mile stretch of the River Blackwater in North Cork.
One man describes seeing dozens of fish floating on their backs in the river where once they jumped for air. Another describes seeing only dead fish along a two mile stretch of the river that probably died due to lack of oxygen in the water. This kill of fish stock will have a negative impact on fishing on the Blackwater.
There are a number of theories to the cause of the fish kill. The theory is that the oxygen levels in the water fell due to industrial waste or sewage. No fish died along the river above the sugar beet factory three miles from Mallow Bridge. The factory has repeatedly denied any responsibility for the pollution found in the river. As one of the big employers in the region, nobody wants to believe that the beet factory is to blame. Some say that fish began to die just a few hours after production started.
The fish began to die almost immediately after this factory began its annual production.
Further down the river lies the first of many sewage disposal outlets. Untreated sewage flows freely from a new housing development and a chemical plant into the Blackwater.
Another suspect is the so called Red Shed comprising the waste from four factories. Like the beet factory, the Red Shed claims it makes strenuous efforts to clean its waste. Many locals claim that the fish are dying above the site of the Red Shed pointing the finger of blame for pollution elsewhere. However, the greatest number of fish died below this point.
The claim is that the pollution began on Sunday 5 October and by mid-week had travelled almost 10 miles down the river. The pollution continued to flow further down the river to Fermoy.
Following a warm summer and low water levels, the concentration of waste in the water was just too high.
This episode of 'Seven Days' was broadcast on 21 October 1969.
