Dramatic decline in water quality reported in south Tipperary

There has been “a massive drop” in the quality of the water in south Tipperary’s rivers and lakes in a relatively short period of time, which has seen the water quality decline from 61 percent to 31 percent in the past twelve years.

That grim news was delivered by Fran Igoe, the Southern Regional Coordinator with the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) at a meeting of Clonmel Borough District.

LAWPRO works on behalf of the country’s 31 local authorities to protect and restore good water quality in rivers, lakes, estuaries, ground and coastal water through catchment science and local community engagement.

He said that the water quality challenge is particularly severe in south Tipperary, and much worse than in other areas. The south east region is one of the worst in the country.

He said it is LAWPRO’s job to try and turn that situation around and there is no reason why that can’t happen by working with everyone involved.

Fran Igoe said that they supported all sections to try and manage their operations sustainably. He also warned that there would be more dramatic floods and dry weather events because of climate change.

They had witnessed huge changes in rivers, which had seen the growth of more reeds. This meant that there were fewer fish and it was more difficult to paddle a canoe on the river.

Cllr Pat English said that the massive decline in the water quality was a serious problem. You could see that the amount of phosphates and nitrates going into the water had created growth that was never there before, such as the reeds that were growing from the river bed.

He said that the necessary finance should be made available to the farming community to ensure that the chemicals they were using didn’t enter the water.

Cllr Siobhán Ambrose said that the figures were quite stark and regrettable.

Cllr John FitzGerald said that reaching out to co-ops is the way to go. In the winter months farmlands became flood plains, through no fault of farmers, and buffer zones should be created.

LAWPRO was established to fulfil requirements under the European Union Water Framework Directive and is funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

LAWPRO coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan.

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