A campaign to improve water quality in the Great Western Lakes area has welcomed a "breakthrough" in the Government's approach to the issue. Three key Departments are now beginning to co-operate on tackling the problem, according to the Carra/Mask/Corrib Water Protection Group.
While there has been much rhetoric, and tough new environmental legislation, pollution is still rising in river systems. Last January the European Commission confirmed it was taking legal action against the State over phosphorus levels. The three angling federations in the west which joined forces to highlight the problem at EU level are behind the protection group. It was officially established at a function attended by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Fahey, in Headford, Co Galway, last Friday, and the principals of three Departments - Agriculture, Environment and Marine - attended.
Mr John Sadlier, principal officer for water quality at the Department of the Environment; Mr Matt Synott, principal officer at the Department of Agriculture; and Mr Patrick McHale, senior officer for inland waterways at the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources also attended a two-hour meeting afterwards with the group.
The Minister said agriculture had been identified as the single biggest contributor of phosphorus (73 per cent of total) and nitrogen (82 per cent of total) inputs into waters, which caused eutrophication. "It is only through concerted action by farmers, local interests - in particular, angling clubs - and State agencies working together that we can make real progress," he said.
His two colleagues, the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, and the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, had agreed at a meeting some months ago to increase co-operation and liaison between the Departments on all aspects of water quality, he said.
The Carra/Mask Angling Federation, Corrib Angling Federation and Corrib Trout Angling Federation raised £6,000 to form its new water protection group, and the Minister granted matching funding.
Mr Anthony Waldron, adviser to the group, said water pollution in the west was "alarming", with Loughs Arrow and Gill in Sligo, Conn and Cullin in north Mayo, and Carra, Mask and Corrib stretching from south Mayo through Galway affected. Weed growth and several algal blooms, some of which were toxic, were warning signals that could not be ignored. he said, if our lakes and rivers were to survive.
Mr Waldron acknowledged that some improvements had occurred, such as substantial investments in upgrading sewage treatment plants, incorporating phosphorus removal.
The Minister mentioned the £3,000 million provision for water supply, including waste treatment, in the National Development Plan. He also outlined a series of initiatives, including new regulations on contamination by any of 14 substances which will come into force on July 1st of this year; new bylaws by local authorities; a phase-out of phosphate-based domestic laundry detergents; and initiatives under the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS).
However, other measures to deal with the farming/land-use problem had not been successful, Mr Waldron said. He described as "disappointing" the most recent reports from the Environmental Protection Agency indicating a 10 per cent increase in river pollution, in spite of the fact that 50,000 farmers are now participating in REPS programmes.
