Lough Atalia

bobbyss

Driving by Lough Atalia recently I couldn't help but notice how beautiful it looked. And how lucky the residents of that road are to have it. The autumn sun was belting down on it in all its magnificence. I was almost going to stop for some potted herrings. But anyway.

I have never seen anybody swim in it. There may be some canoeing club that uses it but I have never seen them. No motorboats or whatever. No activities that I have seen.

It seems to me such an underused resource.

thesandeman

Let's turn it into a carpark.

ChunkyLover54

It is indeed a magnificent setting which people can admire for 30-40 minutes while they sit in traffic each Friday evening.

pjohnson

I thought this was a repost of that time some guy had a mate with a quarry and wanted to fill it up. Whatever happened that guy.

Discodog

ChunkyLover54 wrote: »

It is indeed a magnificent setting which people can admire for 30-40 minutes while they sit in traffic each Friday evening.

Especially when the tide is out

Wompa1

Lived in a top floor apartment in one of the older buildings there. Beautiful place. So nice at sunset or sunrise during the summer. From a height you can see sail boats out in the bay.

_Whimsical_

I think it was so polluted for so long that swimming there just became a nasty idea. I'm not sure if it's clean now, it probably is.

Also it is shallow!! It's near impossible to get to a depth that you can swim at.
This video of it was very much my childhood memory of going there, back when we didn't worry about small details like ecoli...

https://www.facebook.com/todayfm/videos/10153143293792568/

Whereisgalway

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

I think it was so polluted for so long that swimming there just became a nasty idea. I'm not sure if it's clean now, it probably is.

Also it is shallow!! It's near impossible to get to a depth that you can swim at.
This video of it was very much my childhood memory of going there, back when we didn't worry about small details like ecoli...

https://www.facebook.com/todayfm/videos/10153143293792568/

Can't be that shallow if they got a barge up there

bobbyss

_Whimsical_ wrote:

I think it was so polluted for so long that swimming there just became a nasty idea. I'm not sure if it's clean now, it probably is.

_Whimsical_ wrote:

Also it is shallow!! It's near impossible to get to a depth that you can swim at. This video of it was very much my childhood memory of going there, back when we didn't worry about small details like ecoli...

Lough Atalia shallow? Polluted? Are you mixing Lough Atalia up with somewhere else?

bonzodog2

I started a thread about this in '09 http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055776185
The rail bridge was originally a swivel bridge to allow ships to pass through, surprising considering the depth.

bobbyss

bonzodog2 wrote:

The rail bridge was originally a swivel bridge to allow ships to pass through, surprising considering the depth.

How do you know it's depth? Some kind of water sports would be appropriate maybe. Don't know how you access it as I think from LA Road the land on its bank is private. Seems such a waste to be left idle. I do recall a raft there once.

_Whimsical_

bobbyss wrote: »

Lough Atalia shallow? Polluted? Are you mixing Lough Atalia up with somewhere else?

Yes I'm thinking of Ballyloughane in Renmore, doh!
Sorry about that.

Good question about Lough Atalia though, I've wondered why there's no activity on it too.

Wompa1

When I lived down there, a homeless dude lived in a tent along the bank. Seemed horribly uncomfortable, he kept the tent on incline so it wasn't visible from the road, I'm guessing as not to get moved. Would see him using the water to scrub every once in a while.

For part of the year, on Saturday mornings they also had kids in small sail boats practicing within there. The water looks a little gross in there, though...

etselbbuns

On a low neap tide, the average depth is 1.1m, rising to 5.5m at its outlet.

It was a sewage outlet in the 70s and I assume roads runoff still drains into it. Further bottom sediment gets disturbed due to the windy weather and the fast current under rail bridge