·         National Federation of Group Water Schemes

Mr. Sean Corrigan, Source protection Pilot Project Programme Lead from the National Federation of Group Water Schemes (NFGWS) was introduced to the Elected Members to give a presentation. He was accompanied by colleagues Anthony Lee and Noel Carroll managers of two of the private group water schemes in Roscommon.  

·         Introducing his presentation, Mr. Corrigan paid tribute to the staff of Roscommon County Council involved with the promotion of the work of the NFGWS, including Laboratory staff and Catherine Finlay of Rural Water Section. He said they were instrumental in an integrated catchment management which had received considered acclaim at national and EU level, winning a European Pollinator Award for its work.

·         Over 200,000 people across the country have their water supplied by private schemes that are community owned and managed.

·         The NFGWS’s work is heavily focused on consultation with local farmers with different committees such as expert groups; sub-groups focusing on materials, source protection, risk assessment and management and monitoring, all working collaboratively as a network.

·         Compliance with the Water Framework Directive and the Drinking Water Directive are at the heart of NFGWS’s work working with locally elected, trusted and respected community leaders, using individual source protection plans, based on science.

·         Through the network, farmers collaborating in schemes became influencers for other farmers and neighbours, in turn generating pride among communities and reducing the potential for isolation among its farming members, producing guidelines that are socially acceptable.

·         The process of change had taken time to gain the trust of farmers and local communities, often involving direct action with local communities and individual landowners.

·         A ‘Let it Bee initiative’ whereby farmers were encouraged to manage hives to measure water quality was closely aligned to monitoring local water quality as well as establishing links to biodiversity and climate. The initiative won an EU award, highlighting the negative impact of pesticides on bees and the links between the health and well-being of bees and water quality.

·         Mr. Corrigan informed Members of efforts to encourage schoolchildren to plant hedgerows, also as a means of monitoring water quality through a ‘Plant a Tree’ initiative, sponsored by Ballymore Properties, whereby 9,000 trees were handed out to local schoolchildren as part of a piloted scheme.

·         He highlighted a mental health initiative, led by local Group Water Scheme member Thomas Rushe, in collaboration with Roscommon Men’s Shed, noting that due to Roscommon’s karst based limestone landscape, slurry continues to be a problem affecting water quality. As a consequence, contractors are paid to attend training programmes to highlight the benefits of water monitoring for farmers, the environment and for the adoption of socially acceptable practices which promoted farmer well-being as well as good environmental practice.

The Chief Executive paid tribute to the NFGWS whose work illustrated the wider work of Group Water Schemes and is an integral part of communities, generating considerable well-being among the members. He said the work of Group Water Schemes is firmly rooted in the future with over 80 Group Water schemes countrywide and emphasised the importance of continued support for GWS’s and farmers in ensuring best quality waters.

The Members complemented the work of GWS’s from their inception in the 1980’s, generating considerable pride in ensuring local water quality remained of the highest standard:

·         The model of community collaboration enjoyed by GWS’s is a model that could be adopted by other service providers to local communities.

·         The delegation were commended not just not for the quantity of water delivered, but also for its quality and the level of delivery with the potential to be rolled out to other areas.

·         The role of GWS’s supporting biodiversity and involvement with local Tidy Towns Groups was also commented upon as well as the continued transformation of local water quality, which empowered and encouraged farmers to work harder to maintain high quality water in the future.

·         The group water scheme model has worked well in county Roscommon, supplying a significant proportion of the county with quality water.

·         The stakeholder engagement with the community is key to the success of the sector.

Thanking the executive and elected members, Mr. Corrigan concluded his presentation by requesting the continued support of the local authority. He said the use of pesticides  remained a challenge, yet Roscommon had reduced their use by over 20% in recent years. He said the work of GWS’s would further consider the use of ‘bee and ‘bug Hotel’s’ to monitor water quality, encouraging younger people to do so.