joebean Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 How much money has been spent on IRIS? It seems to me that most of the money was spent trying to pump poo up hill and down dale rather than actually providing a clean and safe environment. To have spent all that money and STILL only have a 6% beach pass rate, whatever the excuses, is just a disgrace. Who is responsible for the huge waste of money that is IRIS? Has anyone ever been held to account? I think not. It is another example of not holding our hands up to a mistake and learning from it, but keeping up the pretence that it was Good Idea. One day we will regret that we let consultants and politicians waste so much of our money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendytoy Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 How much money has been spent on IRIS? It seems to me that most of the money was spent trying to pump poo up hill and down dale rather than actually providing a clean and safe environment. To have spent all that money and STILL only have a 6% beach pass rate, whatever the excuses, is just a disgrace. Who is responsible for the huge waste of money that is IRIS? Has anyone ever been held to account? I think not. It is another example of not holding our hands up to a mistake and learning from it, but keeping up the pretence that it was Good Idea. One day we will regret that we let consultants and politicians waste so much of our money. Hear hear. IRIS was begun, what, at least a decade ago? Then halfway down the line they realised that pumping to Meary Veg from all over the Island wasn't going to work after all, so now they're 'rethinking', leaving the north and west untreated in the meantime. It's going to be 2015, apparently, before the scheme is completed. In theory, however, the south and east are sorted, so it's amusing/appalling to see that the three beaches 'failed' by the MCS report were in the east/south-east. What bugs me is the govt's arse about face hopelessness over this. It makes no sense to spend taxpayers' money promoting the IOM as an adventure tourism destination only for divers, kayakers, windsurfers, coasteerers etc to be greeted with the sight of turds, used condoms* and sanitary towels* floating in the water, and wind up contracting bacterial stomach infections. I'd be interested to know a) how many millions have been spent on IRIS to date, and what the projection is to complete the north/west phases and b) how similar are the criteria by which the govt labs and the MCS rate the water? I've seen those weekly reports from the labs give certain beaches the green light, when they're on the MCS 'black list'.... *Admittedly it would help if people didn't flush these down the crapper in the first place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triskelion Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 To have spent all that money and STILL only have a 6% beach pass rate, whatever the excuses, is just a disgrace. Actually the pass rate is 82%. The 6% refers to the percentage of beaches that are 'recommended' - just Derbyhaven. There was in fact one less failure this year compared to last, despite the researchers saying results were skewed negatively because of wet weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemonday Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Actually the pass rate is 82%. The 6% refers to the percentage of beaches that are 'recommended' - just Derbyhaven. That strikes me as confusing It can pass ergo be safe but what's the diff between that and recommended. Seems strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebrof Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Actually the pass rate is 82%. The 6% refers to the percentage of beaches that are 'recommended' - just Derbyhaven. That strikes me as confusing It can pass ergo be safe but what's the diff between that and recommended. Seems strange. Most are good (enough), and a few are better. But it's a typical MF headline - "IOM Beaches - Fail", when only 18% actually failed. And, as somebody said, why did the "Iris beaches" fail? That suggest the scheme is even more half-baked than we all supposed. S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theodolite Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Only 2 "IRIS" beaches failed (Douglas Broadway and Bay-ny-Carrickey). Probably for the same reasons that so many UK beaches failed last year. The self-promoting Marine Conservation Society take various other factors also into account (other than bacteria measures) such as what is washed up on the beach. For example a dead seal lying on the beach isn't going to gain a good report. Make no mistake that IRIS works in that raw sewage does not fall straight out to sea as it used to, such as at Castle Rock in Port Erin (where the crab fisherman used to make a right good living......) and Douglas Bay, where only a few years ago you could watch the seagulls feasting from the sewer slick. Those seagulls now rely on any solids they can find from the Isle of Man Creameries waste pipe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebrof Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Make no mistake that IRIS works in that raw sewage does not fall straight out to sea as it used to, such as at Castle Rock in Port Erin (where the crab fisherman used to make a right good living......) and Douglas Bay, where only a few years ago you could watch the seagulls feasting from the sewer slick. Those seagulls now rely on any solids they can find from the Isle of Man Creameries waste pipe. That's encouraging. Thank you. S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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