A dredging operation at the Limerick Marina had to be aborted this week – for a second time inside four months.
The official line from a City Hall executive is that a dredger commissioned by Waterways Ireland to clear silt from the marina had to abandon the mission ”due to an oil spillage.
“The dredging equipment being used was not up to the job and there was no alternative plan in place,” he said.
Cost to Waterways Ireland for the dredging operation last October, and this week, is estimated at €2million for each operation, but an assurance has been given by Mayor Jim Long, that this is being borne by Waterways Ireland.
Calling on the company to “put a strategy in place for the job they were commissioned to carry out,” Mayor Long claimed there had been no prior consultation with the city council regarding the project.
“The jobs has been botched it again – this will bring a bad image to the city, which will be blamed for something it is not responsible for – it is time that Waterways Ireland put a strategy in place for this project, which they were commissioned to carry out, either that or they should abandon the job and give it to someone else”.
In preparation for the dredging operation on Tuesday, the lock gates on the swivel section of Sarsfield Bridge, were opened for the first time in a decade, to take the flow from the pontoon downstream.
A reliable river expert estimated that this would allow the dredging be completed successfully.
Referring to the failed attempts in October, he said that claims had been made that the operator had dumped silt collected back into the river.
“That was a mistaken claim as, to manoeuvre dropping it into a truck on the quayside, they had to first make a pile of silt near to the quays and the situation was misconstrued, with claims being made that the silt collected had then been dumped back into the river”.
On this Wednesday, the same source said that despite opening the lock gates at Sarsfield Bridge on Tuesday evening, the river flow was too rapid.
“They are now contemplating plan B – to put a digger on top of the pontoon, but I believe they are working blind. The work must be done to facilitate 40 cruisers that are scheduled to come here this summer and more visiting cruisers expected for River Fest in May – there’s a lot of renewed interest in these visits to the marina by the boating fraternity, as the marina has been a white elephant for so long”.
