Two months on - Canal oil contaminated soil to be removed next week

It's hoped that the remaining clean up from an oil pollution incident that happened on Newry Canal over two months ago will be carried out next week.

According to Newry, Mourne and Down District Council a mound of contaminated soil that has been in place for over a month along the side of Newry Canal, close to the entrance to the Towpath at WIN Business Park will be removed by specialist contractors week commencing 15 May. The soil was removed from the Canal close to Lock 2 - Reillys Lock.

The oil pollution incident in the canal on 15 March 2023 saw oil enter through a pipe at the canal wall. Council in conjunction with advice from the NI Environment Agency embarked on a clean up at the iconic facility, the oldest canal in Ireland. It was mostly carried out on the surface with a raft grab but the amount of contaminated soil/ scrub close to the lock necessitated using a digger to remove that.  Containment booms put in place at the time to prevent spread of the oil may stay a little longer with a Council spokesperson explaining "The booms are in place as a precautionary measure until such time as the contaminated material is removed and NIEA are content all oil is removed.”

There is no longer any sign of pollution in the canal and waterhens, ducks and other wildlife are there as normal. This morning a duck and her six ducklings were paddling on the spot that just a couple of months ago was a danger to them.

To date no one has been held responsible for the incident.