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Cleaning beaches?

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  • 14-08-2012 8:47am
    #1
    Little My
    Registered Users Posts: 364 ✭✭


    Seen this article this morning and its something I have been wondering about for some time.

    http://www.galwaynews.ie/27249-call-clean-seaweed-covering-ladies-beach

    In other beachy places you see tractors out each morning cleaning and raking the sand. How come they don't do it here? I've never seen any tractors on the beaches in Galway. Did they used to do it and its now a budget issue?

    I had thought it might have been an environmental issue, like its better if its left natural for the all round ecosystem, but it seems that's not the case after all.

    I see they are going to do it for the Ironman. Think its a shame it only gets done for special occasions.


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    #2
    fishy fishy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,456 ✭✭✭fishy fishy


    was out there on Sunday - I tell you I nearly had to hold my breath the whole way out - the fumes were disgusting coming from the beach and no, it wasn't the normal "seaweed" smell - this was rank!!


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    #3
    cfeeneyinterior
    Registered Users Posts: 1,077 ✭✭✭cfeeneyinterior


    They used to do it regularly I remember on Grattan beach anyway all the time. They had a tractor that seemed to pick it all up like a harvester..
    I always wondered was it Council or private company collecting seaweed..... Council I assume.
    In any case recently I saw them going around with a trailer and shoveling it in to a trailer by hand. Seemed ridiculous to me and a waste of money to have two lads out when the tractor would have the beach done in 20 minutes...


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    #4
    Ficheall
    Registered Users Posts: 9,034 ✭✭✭Ficheall


    cfeeneyinterior wrote: »
    Seemed ridiculous to me and a waste of money to have two lads out when the tractor would have the beach done in 20 minutes...
    Could be a good way of getting a couple of people off the dole...


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    #5
    cfeeneyinterior
    Registered Users Posts: 1,077 ✭✭✭cfeeneyinterior


    Ficheall wrote: »
    Could be a good way of getting a couple of people off the dole...

    You made me think of this wonderful man....
    :rolleyes:


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    #6
    stampydmonkey
    Registered Users Posts: 2,359 ✭✭✭stampydmonkey


    They used to do it out at Traught Beach but they stopped paying the lad who used to do it..budget issue. even still its not too bad out there at the moment. some beaches are rank smelly tho


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    #7
    BrokenArrows
    Registered Users Posts: 7,498 ✭✭✭BrokenArrows


    I used to live beside a beach in Australia and they used to do it every single day.

    The beach was amazing.

    The initial job will be big but if its done once or twice a week to maintain it then it should be straight forward.

    I think the problem with irish beaches is however that they tend to stretch for miles. So they would mainly have to choose a 200 meter stretch and keep it maintained.


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    #8
    Fuinseog
    Registered Users Posts: 5,371 ✭✭✭Fuinseog


    Little My wrote: »
    Seen this article this morning and its something I have been wondering about for some time.

    http://www.galwaynews.ie/27249-call-clean-seaweed-covering-ladies-beach

    In other beachy places you see tractors out each morning cleaning and raking the sand. How come they don't do it here? I've never seen any tractors on the beaches in Galway. Did they used to do it and its now a budget issue?

    I had thought it might have been an environmental issue, like its better if its left natural for the all round ecosystem, but it seems that's not the case after all.

    I see they are going to do it for the Ironman. Think its a shame it only gets done for special occasions.

    go out early, around eight some mornings and you will need council workers cleaning the beach. i think the regulars also clean blackrock themselves.


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    #9
    Little My
    Registered Users Posts: 364 ✭✭Little My


    Fuinseog wrote: »
    go out early, around eight some mornings and you will need council workers cleaning the beach. i think the regulars also clean blackrock themselves.

    Thanks for the info... I'd never be out that early.

    I still don't think they look like they are cleaned regularly, but fair enough if they are.


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    #10
    cfeeneyinterior
    Registered Users Posts: 1,077 ✭✭✭cfeeneyinterior


    Fuinseog wrote: »
    go out early, around eight some mornings and you will need council workers cleaning the beach. i think the regulars also clean blackrock themselves.
    They're not picking up the masses of seaweed though


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    #11
    ir555
    Registered Users Posts: 116 ✭✭ir555


    cfeeneyinterior wrote: »
    They're not picking up the masses of seaweed though

    if they were not so tangled up in helath and safety crap - they could easily find someone that would take it away free of charge and use it for fertiliser..

    D


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    #12
    Fuinseog
    Registered Users Posts: 5,371 ✭✭✭Fuinseog


    cfeeneyinterior wrote: »
    They're not picking up the masses of seaweed though

    you only get seaweed down at blackrock after a storm. if you see it washed up take a sack or two with you. its great for the garden.

    a lot of swimmers wear flip flops in case they step on broken glass walking down to the water. they use the place every day and know they can either bitch about it or do something about it.

    Regular swimmers in Dublin pick up the rubbish as well.


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    #13
    cfeeneyinterior
    Registered Users Posts: 1,077 ✭✭✭cfeeneyinterior


    Sorry, the seaweed left on the beaches is the problem. Thankfully the summer has been a washout but when the sun comes out the seaweed starts to rott and then the problem arises.
    I think there is very little rubbish on the beaches really these days, it's the seaweed not being cleared and then stinking the whole area up when the sun decides to come out.


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    #14
    galwaycyclist
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,912 ✭✭✭galwaycyclist


    The slang for the beach cleaning in Galway used to be "pamper picking". Irish people seem to think its ok to take a used diaper off their child on a public beach and either cover it with a light layer of sand or stuff it between rocks.

    As I recall I did it for about a week one summer but quit because I was so annoyed that I was afraid of what would happen if I caught someone doing it.


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    #15
    Little My
    Registered Users Posts: 364 ✭✭Little My


    http://www.galwaycity.ie/GeneralNews/220812_02.html

    "Galway City Council has advised that results of the most recent bathing water sampling taken at Grattan Beach showed levels of Ecoli which breached EU mandatory Permitted values.

    On the advice of the HSE, Public Notices have been put in place advising bathers not to swim at Grattan Beach until the quality is restored.

    The excessive rainfall over the past week is a major contributory factor to the increased levels of bacteria detected.

    Galway City Council will continue to monitor the water quality at all beaches, and further information will issue."

    Not related to cleaning seaweed etc of the beaches themselves but still relevant.

    What would cause this? Lots of rain = lots of polluted run off?


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    #16
    Fuinseog
    Registered Users Posts: 5,371 ✭✭✭Fuinseog


    Grattan beach is great for taking a stroll but among swimmers it was always avoided in favour of ladies Beach or Blackrock.

    the sewage treatment plant was held up by objecters for ten years.


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    #17
    stampydmonkey
    Registered Users Posts: 2,359 ✭✭✭stampydmonkey


    Little My wrote: »
    http://www.galwaycity.ie/GeneralNews/220812_02.html

    "What would cause this? Lots of rain = lots of polluted run off?

    from what i learned in college, effectively yes. all the sewage treatment plants will be designed with a max capacity of a specific multiple of the dry weather flow(DWF)/normal flow, so when there is a particularly large downpour, and the max plant capacity is exceeded, a flow bypass will kick in and the excess flow will bypass the main treatment plant and in effect flow straight into the river/sea. this is justified by the obvious cost implications of increasing the max plant capacity to cater for rare storm events and the increased flow in the river which will lead to an increased dilution rate thus somewhat reducing the concentration of the effluent.


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    #18
    galwaycyclist
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,912 ✭✭✭galwaycyclist


    Fuinseog wrote: »
    Grattan beach is great for taking a stroll but among swimmers it was always avoided in favour of ladies Beach or Blackrock.


    The use of Mutton island as the arguably unuitable location for a sewage treatment plant with only secondary treatment was held up by objecters for ten years.

    Amended your post for clarity I am not aware that anyone in the "save galway bay" group disputed the need for a sewage treatment plant.


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    #19
    Fuinseog
    Registered Users Posts: 5,371 ✭✭✭Fuinseog


    galwaycyclist wrote: »
    Amended your post for clarity I am not aware that anyone in the "save galway bay" group disputed the need for a sewage treatment plant.

    the save Galway Bay group ensured we swam in shiiit for ten unnecessary years. most folks do not find the plant an eyesore. I wonder how many of the group were actually swimmers? they challenged it in the high court using free legal aid.


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    #20
    buzz11
    Registered Users Posts: 751 ✭✭✭buzz11


    Fuinseog wrote: »
    they challenged it in the high court using free legal aid.

    Thats not what it says here;
    http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1998/03/25/ihead.htm


    ACTOR Ray McBride faces a legal bill of £250,000, as Galway Corporation prepares to begin work immediately on their £23m sewage-treatment plant in Galway Bay.
    The Supreme Court yesterday cleared the way for the plant to be built on Mutton Island, despite concerns it would damage the environment and claims it breached EU procedures.
    Last July, the High Court dismissed Mr McBride's case and he appealed to the Supreme Court.

    However, a leading opponent of the proposed plant, John Cunningham, of the Save Galway Bay Group, described the court's decision as disappointing. The group, which helped fund Mr McBride's challenge, are to review the situation.


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    #21
    galwaycyclist
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,912 ✭✭✭galwaycyclist


    Fuinseog wrote: »
    the save Galway Bay group ensured we swam in shiiit for ten unnecessary years. most folks do not find the plant an eyesore. I wonder how many of the group were actually swimmers? they challenged it in the high court using free legal aid.

    No it was the planners and officials who allowed a massive expansion of the city without putting in the necessary services who did that. Credit where credit is due.


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    #22
    Pure Sound
    Registered Users Posts: 451 ✭✭Pure Sound


    Fuinseog wrote: »
    most folks do not find the plant an eyesore..
    The only reason the plant is not an eyesore is due to the protest, the original plans would have been an eyesore. The protest was not against a treatment plant in Galway but against where it was being built. They wanted it built out of sight on the old fever hospital site but the council had other plans for that. The fact that the treatment plant can not deal with the capacity during bad weather is not the protesters fault but the councils for not developing a treatment plant that took the city's future growth into account.


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