Clean-up at Cloghleagh

Engaging with Coillte and with support from the local community, Enva Foundation assembled a team of volunteers to address the severe illegal dumping at Cloghleagh, Co Wicklow. Over 2,500kg of waste, mostly made up of cans, bottles and camping equipment was collected by the team and removed by Enva for recycling. In addition, a long-abandoned jeep that was driven into a tributary of the River Liffey was safely disassembled and removed. Oils, chemicals, and contaminants that were being released by the car as it disintegrated were undoubtedly affecting the river's quality and ecology.

To get an indication of the river’s health we applied the EPA recommended Q-Value system by taking number of Kick Samples - a standard and widely used method for sampling the micro-invertebrates living on the riverbed. Thankfully a healthy variety of species was evident, in particular, Flattened Mayfly and Stonefly, both of which are considered ‘very sensitive’ to pollutants and therefore an indicator of a healthy river.

“In recent years the litter pollution at Cloghleagh has got so bad that the number of visitors has steadily declined. We were delighted when Enva Foundation approached us to lead a clean-up of the woods and river, removing tonnes of waste which would otherwise have degraded into the water table.”

Glenlough Parish Council

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