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Children are wildlife competition winners at Clonmel Applefest

Last years Clonmel Applefest had a special focus on water quality and the River Suir. Information stands included Healthy Ireland, The Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), Suircan, Clonmel Repair Café and Toastmasters amongst others located along the river bank in Clonmel.

Winners of a wildlife competition held at the last Clonmel Applefest, were given prizes in the Tipperary County Council Chamber in Clonmel. Winners included Amelia Zembrzycka, Oisin O’Flynn, Benjamin Btaszczyk and Gráinne Kelly.

It is important that people have a meaningful input to the management and protection of our precious water resources in Clonmel and Co Tipperary.

Dr. Fran Igoe (LAWPRO Southern Regional Coordinator) answered questions on the river, the aquatic life and what we all can do to protect it. People were particularly interested in dealing with invasive species which impact on the river and a large illustrated map was available inviting people to submit records.

“We aim to map the locations of the three most invasive plant species (Himalayan balsam, Giant Hogweed and Japanese knotweed) in the Suir River catchment with the assistance of the public and build on the work by volunteers from Suircan, visiting students on the EIL programme and Tipperary Co Council to control and prevent their spread along the Suir Blueway”
Fran Igoe, LAWPRO Southern Regional Coordinator

This will form the basis for a larger invasive species strategy in 2020 along the river.

Interest from the public was very encouraging and we had a lot of visitors from Dublin who also wanted to know how they could get involved in improving water quality in their own counties. So the conversation took on a national dimension as well as a local dimension during the day and also an international dimension with visitors to the information stand from the UK, Spain and Poland also joining in the discussions. Issues raised by the public also included the need to protect our native crayfish from the crayfish plague disease and ensuing that our land management practices don’t damage the fragile web of life in the River Suir and the important fisheries it supports.

Fran Igoe, LAWPRO Southern Regional Coordinator

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EPA Catchments Unit

Administrator

The EPA Catchments Unit is based in Dublin, and the team is involved with catchment science, chemistry, ecology, hydromorphology, modelling, Geographic Information Systems and planning. We work with the wider EPA, all of our local authorities, the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and other public bodies and Departments to ensure we have the best available data and information about our catchments.

Who is involved?
Quite simply, everyone in Ireland has a role to play. This can be from something as simple as making sure you don’t pollute your local stream, or a local community working together to establish a Rivers Trust to enhance the rivers and lakes in their area, to a Government Department or Agency helping a Minister implement a new policy to help protect and enhance all our water bodies.

This website has been developed and is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Local Authority Waters Programme.

Local Authority Waters Programme

The Local Authority Waters Programme coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan, and supports local community and stakeholder involvement in managing our natural waters, for everyone’s benefit.

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA is responsible for coordinating the monitoring, assessment and reporting on the status of our 4,842 water bodies, looking at trends and changes, determining which waterbodies are at risk and what could be causing this, and drafting environmental objectives for each.

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Department is responsible for making sure that the right policies, regulations and resources are in place to implement the Water Framework Directive, and developing a River Basin Management Plan and Programme of Measures to protect and restore our waters.