Gerry Sóna, who got together with a number of local people to highlight the pollution in the river over a year ago, contacted us yesterday to express their frustration that nothing has yet been done to solve the problems.

He says: “The Bredagh is in fact dead in its' final half mile or so before it enters the sea.”

While silting varies according to tides and floods and so is not a major concern to the residents, the ongoing pollution of the trout river and its tributaries with sewage from housing developments is a major worry.

The residents contacted both the Loughs Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and, when both agencies investigated the matter, were told that the problem is getting worse.

However, Gerry says the agencies decided not to take action on the understanding that a major new sewage treatment plant was to be built for Movlle and Greencastle.

He adds: “These plans for that treatment centre have ground to a halt, with the result that untreated sewage is still being piped right into Moville harbour. It’s ironic that this weekend, when we have the festival, the regatta and the raft competition on, all this activity is taking place right over Moville’s main sewer which empties midway between the piers.

“We’ve seen a lot of press coverage in recent weeks of the problems facing developers because of inadequate water and sewerage infrastructure in the area. Senator Cecilia Keaveney was quoted as saying that she raised the matter when problems started ‘about ten years ago.’

“The Bredagh pollution has been going on for more than fifty years and nothing has been done to solve the problem.

“This saga has many victims, but the saddest of all are the sea trout that congregate in Moville Bay to run to their spawning grounds every summer. Now their run into the river is a run to certain death.”

Mr Sóna points out that new EU legislation will ensure that “the polluter pays”. Therefore, the council should act quickly to restore the river, its pathways, weirs and fish stocks, before the cost of doing so mounts up even further.