DONEGAL County Council has warned people to stop
diving in a lake that provides drinking water for a
large portion of the population.
The local authority said it was "extremely
concerned" at recent reports that divers are trying
to retrieve rare gutta percha golf balls, worth some
€20,000 each, from Lough Salt.
"Lough Salt is one of the main sources of drinking
water for Letterkenny and its environs," the council
said yesterday in a statement.
"Any activity that could lead to a threat to the
quality of this water is taken very seriously by the
council."
It has been reported that golfing legend Tom Morris
drove 20 gutta percha golf balls into Lough Salt
while he was designing the nearby Rosapenna golf
course in 1891. The story of recent attempts to
retrieve the balls from the lake has received
widespread media attention nationally and
internationally.
Donegal County Council now fears the publicity will
lead to more people diving for the balls.
"The Council wishes to advise that as a drinking
water source, Lough Salt is a protected water body
under the Water Framework Directive and the council
will take all measures necessary within its powers
to prevent further use of this lake for such
recreational use," the statement continued.
"It should also be noted that Lough Salt is a deep
lake and diving in the lake requires the use of
specialist diving equipment operated by divers
trained and capable of using such equipment.
"The only situation that the Council will consider
in terms of granting permission to dive in Lough
Salt will be in relation to emergency contingency
planning in order to develop a planned response to
an accident which results in a recovery operation
from the waters of the lake." |
