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DHLGH supports NFGWS Integrated Source Protection Plan

The National Federation of Group Water Schemes (NFGWS) has secured funding from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) towards its Integrated Source Protection Plan (ISPP) roll-out on community-owned group water schemes (GWSs) across the country.

An additional €199,000 has been approved by Minister Darragh O’Brien TD, under Measure 1 of the current Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme, towards completion of ISPPs on 14 GWSs in the current year, building on learnings from the ongoing NFGWS Source Protection Pilot Project in Roscommon, Westmeath and Monaghan.

The DHLGH has also approved increased support funding to the NFGWS towards the continued inclusion of climate action and biodiversity enhancement strategies across the sector, particularly as part of the ISPP process. In total, these developments will result in an additional €600,000 being invested by the DHLGH in the development and rollout of ISPPs over a three-year period.

This is in addition to funding already provided to the GWS sector by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) towards the implementation of measures to mitigate against agricultural pressures identified in ISSPs.

Graddum Lough, drinking water source for Crosserlough GWS in Cavan; one of the 14 GWSs that will have ISPPs developed as part of this project.

ISPPs are scientifically-based, scheme-specific plans that detail targeted actions by a range of stakeholders (and especially communities) that can reverse or avert pollution in a drinking water source catchment/zone of contribution.

Welcoming the financial investment by both departments, NFGWS Chairperson, Vincent Farrelly, described it as

a ground-breaking, inter-departmental approach to environmental objectives that represents a huge vote of confidence in the NFGWS drinking water source protection strategy’.

The 14 participating group water schemes are comprised of a mixture of groundwater and surface water sources with varying catchment sizes. Many are also located within, or close to, current Priority Areas for Action (PAAs), as defined within Ireland’s River Basin Management Plan (RBMP).

Informed by the NFGWS document A Framework for Drinking Water Source Protection, each GWS has been assigned a preliminarily ‘Protect’ or ‘Improve’ classification, based on the current quality of its source. The ISSPs will be developed by expert consultants in partnership with the various group water schemes, whose respect within their communities and knowledge of the local landscape is integral to the project’s success.

The development of these plans is a critical step in identifying targeted source protection actions and it will assist in identifying a potential model for such work on other community-run drinking water supplies. Not only will they provide a framework for communities to work together to help protect or improve their local drinking water source but the actions that arise from ISPPs also have the potential to benefit biodiversity and the aquatic environment as a whole.

Learn more:

NFGWS Source Protection Resources

About author

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.