Key salmon spawning areas in a Co Dublin river were being threatened by effluent, the High Court heard yesterday.
Fingal County Council has claimed that the illegal discharges were being caused by a building firm that is developing the old Superquinn site in Swords, Co Dublin.
Damian Keaney, counsel for the local authority, told the court the discharge greatly exceeded limits covered by a licence granted to Pierse Construction Company, of Birmayne House, Mulhuddart, Co Dublin.
Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne granted the council an injunction restraining the company from breaching the terms of its licence.
The matter is to come before the court again on Friday.
Mr Keaney told Judge Dunne that the company had been asked to comply with these terms but had failed to do so. There had been a history to the application and in June a "solution" had been agreed but this had not been complied with and there had been two further discharges, on August 8th and 11th.
He said the breach was discovered by officials from the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board and the council.
The council had invoked its powers and fitted a temporary device to a pipe to block further discharges.
Aoife Lawler, a senior engineer with the local authority, said the company had been granted a licence subject to 29 conditions. The Ward River contained key salmon spawning areas upstream of the discharge point.
Several meetings had taken place with representatives of the company to ensure that only effluent permitted by the licence went into the river.
However, ongoing sampling revealed the discharge exceeded the permitted limits.