"Horrendous" stench from sewage plant is making life "unbearable" say Stamullen residents

FURIOUS residents in a Stamullen housing estate say the "horrendous" stench from a temporary sewage plant in the development is making living there "unbearable."

The waste plant facility was constructed in Silver Banks housing estate as a temporary measure until the main wastewater line to Balbriggan was completed. However the works originally planned to be finished in 2022 are now expected to extend into 2024 or beyond leaving residents in a "nightmare" situation.

Property developers Glenveagh has now completed the three phase project with approximately 180 houses built as part of the project. As more homes were sold over the last year, the issue became exacerbated according to resident Conor McQuaid who says living there has become "torturous."

"Since early June 2022, there has been a horrendous smell permeating through the estate. The whole estate is fuming, we are at our wits end.

"Even with doors and windows shut during these hot summer days, the sewage smell pervades our homes daily for those of us unlucky enough to live at the front of the estate. The stench is truly nauseating. "It's very mentally exhausting, I work from home and its torturous sitting at home all day being in this kind of environment. Myself and my wife and toddler are currently looking at alternative accommodation to either move in with family or a rental because it is just so bad.

"In the evening, you are sitting down and the smell comes in, you feel nauseous and start getting headaches and it is just soul destroying.

"We are furious, embarrassed and confused wondering how have they gotten away with this for so long."

Conor claims that the plant is not fit for purpose for the 180 homes in the development.

"As Silver Banks expanded, it appeared to me that the facility was not being serviced or maintained.

"We have reported the issue to Glenveagh multiple times and escalated it to the EPA and Meath County Council in November 2022."

In response, Glenveagh commissioned EPS Water in January to maintain the plant according to Mr McQuaid. This led to a brief improvement, but he says over the last three to four months, the living conditions here have again become "horrendous."

"Glenveagh are not providing detailed updates on maintenance works and we have no direct communication with EPS Water."

"We get the sense that Meath Co Council is sidestepping the issue entirely. This is likely because it was a poorly thought-through planning approval, and they have been unresponsive to our queries. In fact, there is no public record of planning approval for a treatment plant, only a pumping station to transport waste off-site to the nearby City North campus."

Resident Felix Antony bought his house that is directly opposite the sewage facility in the first phase of the housing development in 2020 and says three years on he regrets ever moving there.

"The smell in the estate is terrible and we can’t even open our windows and air vents due to the smell and as a result houses are like a sauna," he said.

"I have a new born baby and the smell inside the house is sickening due to sewage smell sweeping through gaps.

"The baby is crying all night and we can't even open the window.

"The smell is there all of the time but at night around 10pm to 12am its very bad."

Felix says it wasn't until more people began moving in that the situation became problematic for all whole estate.

"When we came here there was no problem until all the phases opened. I'm in the first phase, when the second phase opened, there was no problem, when the third phase opened is when all of these problems started.

"We live straight opposite the plant; you can't even imagine the smell.

"When we go out for a few hours and come back into the house it's like a public toilet. We can't even invite people over because we are so embarrassed, you can't even eat in the house without feeling sick.

"I bought this house for so much money and it's like you live in a sewage treatment centre."

Resident Daniel McGrogan says despite efforts to resolve the issue, the smell of sewage from the populous estate is worse than ever.

"This has been going on since approximately June 2022 and there has been a smell coming from the sewage plant as of late that I can only describe as unbearably disgusting.

"EPS water used filters to stop the odour but it didn't last long. The past number of months the smell has been so horrific that I can't even open my windows and even with the windows closed the sewage odour seeps through the air vents.

"It seems like nobody cares about this issue and the EPA, Meath County Council and Glenveagh are passing the book and fobbing us off.

"Our quality of life is so bad lately that I want to sell my house for my family's health as breathing in these fumes is dangerous not to mention a public health risk. I don't even want to be in my own house. It's infuriating and sad to say the least as we paid money for a home we don't want to stay in anymore."

Meath County Council said: "The issue has been investigated by Meath County Council and there are no issues from a planning viewpoint but it is an issue for Uisce Eireann and it is currently being dealt with by them."

Glenveagh homes said: "We are aware of the issues and have been working hard to resolve this matter. We hope to complete the necessary work at this plant later this week. We are monitoring the situation closely and we apologise to the local community."

Uisce Éireann said:

"Uisce Éireann, working in partnership with Meath County Council, is delivering the Stamullen Wastewater Upgrade Scheme.

"These improvement works will address the current limited capacity by converting the existing Stamullen Wastewater Treatment Plant to a pumping station, which will pump all wastewater to Balbriggan for treatment at the wastewater treatment plant there.

"The rising main has also been designed to cater for flows from Gormanston in future."

The project was split into two phases according to a spokesperson for Uisce Éireann who said:

"Approximately 2km of twin rising mains and a gravity sewer were completed on the R132 from the Delvin Bridge to Cardy Rock, Balbriggan, in 2022.

"The remaining 4km of twin rising main has recently been completed."

They added that construction of the pumping station and works to finalise the project are currently ongoing. David Walsh Civil Engineering Ltd is delivering these works on behalf of Uisce Éireann. The works are due for completion end of Q3 2024.