Repairs to the fish pass in the Blackwater River in Fermoy town will be done in the window that is available to get the work completed, members of Fermoy Town Council were assured at their recent monthly meeting.

The repairs must be done by the end of September so as not to interfere with salmon travelling upriver to spawn. With no start date for the work in sight, members raised concerns that time would run out. “Now is an ideal time,” Councillor John Murphy pointed out.

Prices for the work have been got, members were told, and the work would get done in time.

TEMPORARY WORKS

They are interim repairs. A design for a permanent bypass fish channel is currently being finalised with consultations ongoing between the Department of Communications, Energy and National Resources to ensure the design satisfies the requirements of the Habitats Directive. A fisheries expert has been retained to finalise the design details.

Meanwhile, the most significant temporary repairs are required on the south wall at the base of the fish pass. That wall at its junction with the weir will be reinstated where possible to divert water overflowing the weir away from the main fish pass channel.

It’s proposed to also carry out works on the weir to regulate the level. A new concrete capping over the existing capping is proposed. That work is to be carried out on completion of the flood defence works. Due to those works, which have restricted the flow of river water over the eastern end of the weir, a 60m area is currently exposed and has dried, making it an ideal time to do the works, the meeting heard.