One of the most significant initiatives to counter river pollution and improve water quality in the Liffey, Boyne and Suir has been launched by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey.
The three-year project, costing £3.5 million, is an attempt to reverse a gradual decline in the water quality due to eutrophication - mainly caused by high phosphate seepage from agriculture, septic-tank discharges and waste water. This in turn is causing excessive growth of algae and plant life and depleting oxygen levels.
The destruction of trout and salmon spawning grounds and the number of fish kills caused by the "nutrient load" are of particular concern. "These are major rivers, with people depending on them for drinking water and for their livelihood, as well as the amenity and recreational value," Mr Ray Earle, project co-ordinator for the Boyne and Liffey, said.
Much work would involve co-ordinating information on the rivers and putting in place a satellite-assisted geographical information system (GIS), which would make monitoring and managing water quality in the rivers and their tributaries highly effective, he said. They would be working with each sector "to create awareness of how best to address any negative impacts their activity may have".
Speaking yesterday in Trim, Co Meath, where the Boyne and Liffey project co-ordinator's office is based, the Minister said eutrophication was the predominant problem nationally with water quality. The main elements of his response were to set environmental quality standards, to provide appropriate waste-water treatment infrastructure and to introduce other initiatives to reduce phosphorous inputs.
There was, he said, a need to generate awareness by all concerned of their responsibilities to protect and conserve river systems as water-supply sources, salmonid fisheries, recreational and amenity resources, and natural habitats.
The Three Rivers Project will involve 18 agencies including local authorities. "We know from sampling the water and from observed excessive growth of weeds that pollution is increasing in the rivers. We have to reverse that trend," the Suir project co-ordinator, Mr Colin Byrne, said.
Overuse of fertilisers, inadequate farmyard management, poor slurry disposal practices on farmlands were contributing to the poor water quality. Wastewater discharges from municipal treatment plants and industry, as well as domestic septic-tank discharges, were adding to the problem, he said.
The project will be managed by M.C. O'Sullivan consulting engineers with UK consultants H.R. Wallingford and J.C. Quigg, Cork. The steering group includes representatives of the Department of the Environment (which is sponsoring it with EU Cohesion Fund support), the EPA and Central Fisheries Board.
