Dredging Not To Blame For Murky Dublin Bay Waters Says Port Company

10th May 2018

Dredging works to deepen channels for larger cargo and cruise vessels started last autumn Credit: Dublin Port Company

#DublinBay - Murky seawater in Dublin Bay should not be blamed on dredging, according to Dublin Port Company’s CEO.

Earlier this week, it emerged that all planned diving excursions in Dublin Bay by Irish Underwater Council members had been cancelled due to poor visibility in the water.

Dive instructor Peader Farrell pointed at dredging works to deepen the channels into Dublin Port for rendering the bay’s waters “filthy brown” and leaving crustaceans “with an overcoat of silt on their backs”.

However, in a letter to The Irish times this morning (Thursday 10 May), Dublin Port Company chief executive Eamonn O’Reilly says that the dredging operations that began last year ‘did not cause any discernible increase in turbidity above recorded background levels’, according to the port’s Annual Environmental Report.

“Dredging has been a feature of operations in Dublin Port since the early 20th century,” said O’Reilly.

“We now have the science available to measure its impact and objectively confirm that dredging in Dublin Port does not damage the environment of Dublin Bay.”

The Irish Times has more HERE.

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MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business

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