Farmers reject claims that they are main threat to water supply

FARMERS have rejected claims that they are the biggest threat to groundwater supplies in this country.

They were responding to the latest water quality report from the Environmental Protection Agency which claims that run-off from the agricultural industry represented the “greatest threat” to our groundwater.

However, the Irish Farmers’ Association said last night that it was “unfair” to single out the agriculture sector “at a time when many local authority water treatment systems and effluent plants are substandard and require significant upgrading”.

The IFA also said that phosphate and nitrogen use was down, while up to 70,000 farmers were expected to join the new Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS) and €1 billion is set to be spent on improved storage facilities.

Almost one in three of all rivers and streams in Ireland are polluted while just 36% of coastal waters are free of pollution, according to the latest water study.

The EPA say that there’s an “unacceptable and sizeable level of water pollution” in the country, with 29% of rivers and streams, 8% of lake surfaces and 22% of estuarine/coastal water needing remedial action.

The level of bacterial and nutrient contamination in our ground waters is increasing, with the number of fish kills in our rivers “unacceptably high”.

In relation to nitrate levels and agriculture, the report quotes a European-wide study from 2005 which identified a close link between increased nutrient pressures on the environment and high-density livestock production.

“The study shows that excess nutrient loss is often due to practices such as over-fertilisation which should, ipso facto, make prevention straightforward.”

The EPA’s aim is to have all waters, surface and groundwater, showing a status of “good or higher” by 2015.

EPA director Dr Mary Kelly said that eutrophication (over-nutrition leading to lack of oxygen for marine life) of rivers, lakes and tidal waters continues to be the main threat to surface waters, with agricultural and municipal discharges being the key contributors.

“Although improvements in river and lake water quality are observed in the latest figures, there are differences across the country,” she said. “Groundwater shows a trend of decline in water quality, as do estuarine and coastal waters and shellfish waters.”

Dr Kelly pointed out that although water extracted from groundwater sources is treated before being used in public supplies, “increased contamination puts further pressure on drinking water treatment plants”. She said that Ireland has an abundant supply of fresh water, although not evenly distributed across the country.

Among the issues to be tackled, according to Dr Kelly, are the licensing of urban waste water treatment discharge, nutrient management and catchment management.

The latest water quality report deals with 13,200km of river and stream channels, 421 lakes, 69 tidal water bodies (from 21estuarine and coastal areas) and 285 groundwater sources.

The report was presented to Environment Minister John Gormley yesterday during his first visit to EPA headquarters in Wexford.