Funding for water quality projects nationwide
Agriculture is the most prevalent significant pressure impacting over 1,000 waterbodies in Ireland, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
155 projects in 26 counties have been awarded funding under the Community Water Development Fund Open Call 2024.
The types of projects approved for funding under this year’s open call include river and habitat enhancement work, such as planting of native tree species and hedgerows; pollinator-friendly planting; fencing and installation of riparian buffer zones near waterbodies (areas free of chemical and organic fertilisers, cultivation and spraying); and a range of awareness-raising initiatives.
The Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), working on behalf of Ireland’s 31 local authorities to protect and restore good water quality, has awarded the funding.
Under the fund, local communities and groups were invited to apply for financial assistance to support the delivery of projects and initiatives to enhance local water bodies and benefit water quality and biodiversity.
A total of €1.2m for water quality projects nationwide has been announced.
Minister of State with responsibility for nature Malcolm Noonan said that under the Community Water Development Fund, grants totalling €702,605 will "fund the grassroots work of local communities and voluntary groups to raise awareness of our rivers, lakes and streams and the biodiversity they support".
"A further €500,000 under the new LAWPRO Catchment Support Fund, to be rolled out by LAWPRO, will help NGOs working on water quality to develop and strengthen the skills, processes, and resources they need to grow," he added.
Agriculture is the most prevalent significant pressure impacting over 1,000 waterbodies in Ireland, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Addressing this week's Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Anthony Coleman, LAWPRO director of services, said that the programme currently has a team of 74 staff working across communities, catchments and Farming for Water EIP teams.
LAWPRO’s catchment assessment team undertakes "scientific local catchment assessments in priority areas for action and provide evidence-based science to better target measures to improve water quality within a catchment".
"Where agriculture is identified as a significant pressure, LAWPRO’s Catchment Assessment Team directs issues to advisors in the Teagasc and Dairy Industry Ireland led Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP)," Mr Coleman told the committee.
"These advisors then work with farmers to improve farm practices and raise awareness of the local water quality issues. To date, up to 8,000 farms have been identified by LAWPRO for targeted advice by ASSAP.
"In 2022, we collaborated with the EPA and ASSAP to prepare catchment referrals for nitrogen for 1,231 waterbodies (709,040 hectares of land), within and outside the priority areas for action, which the ASSAP dairy co-ops advisors used to better target farm visits in nitrate risky areas."
Mr Coleman said that farmer engagement with the ASSAP has been successful, however, "lack of funding for farmers was identified as a barrier to the implementation of supplementary measures required to protect and restore water quality".
In response to this, the Department of Agriculture and Department of Housing launched a competitive call under the European Innovation Partnerships (EIP) initiative of Ireland’s Rural Development Programme.
"LAWPRO in partnership with Teagasc and Dairy Industry Ireland submitted a successful bid for the Farming for Water – European Innovation Partnership (EIP)," he continued.
"The project prioritises areas which need most attention to protect or restore water quality and will remove the financial barrier that currently prevents some farmers following the recommendations of LAWPRO and ASSAP."
The measures in the scheme will aim to protect and improve water quality, along with benefitting "biodiversity, flood mitigation and support ecosystem climate resilience", according to Mr Coleman.
"These will include spatially targeted actions as well as improvements in nitrogen use efficiency and nutrient management.
"The scheme aims to engage up to 15,000 farmers by the end of 2027 and will have at its core the promotion of water stewardship within the agricultural sector.
"While this targeted scheme will not solve water quality issues in isolation, it will contribute to the multi-agency industry-wide effort required to protect and preserve our waterbodies for future generations, while ensuring the sustainability of the agricultural sector."
