Cllr Kieran McCarthy has called for that any future plans for the Atlantic Pond area to continue to protect this historic amenity and its environs. At recent City Council meetings concerns were raised with regards to flooding and possible pollution at the Atlantic Pond.
On foot of the issues raised an initial inspection of the Atlantic Pond was undertaken by the Director of Recreation, Amenity and Environment and Parks Section. The results of this initial inspection indicate that the recent flooding, which occurred in the area at high tides, due to the malfunctioning non-return valve at the pond outlet to the river, has resulted in the brackish salt water causing some “wilting” of the vegetation in the areas that were flooded i.e. the green areas and island. It is the view of the Parks Department that the trees and shrub vegetation will fully recover however some of the lawn areas may need to be reseeded. At present a more detailed examination of the soil and vegetation is being arranged in order to verify these initial findings.
Cllr McCarthy noted: “it has been pointed out to ward councillors by the Director of Recreation, Amenity and Environment that at this point in time there is no evidence that the issues seen at present in the Atlantic Pond are associated with pollution or other such harmful substance in the water. It has also been confirmed that there is no link between the issues being experienced at present and those that occurred in January 2017 has been found”.
In January 2017, there was a discolouration issue in one of the rivers feeding the Atlantic Pond. Cllr McCarthy continued; “this incident was fully investigated by the Environment & Recreation Directorate however the source of the discolouration could not be identified despite significant survey and investigative works. The water samples analysed in January during the discolouration incident did not contain any harmful substances in the water and no negative impacts on either plant or animal life were recorded associated with this incident”.