National Federation of Group Water Schemes

1
National Federation of Group Water Schemes

• Water Services National Training Group
• 5th Annual Rural Water Services Conference
• 13th September 2006

2
National Source Protection Pilot Project at
Churchill OramUpdate

• National Centre for Freshwater Studies
• Dundalk Institute of Technology

3

• Project Overview
• In brief, the National Pilot Source Protection
  Scheme based at Churchill Oram is designed to
• Plan and develop a strategy for monitoring group
  water scheme sources and their catchments
• Implement workable and sustainable solutions for
  preventing source contamination
• Guide and inform policy for the implementation of
  practical source protection measures on group
  schemes nationally

4

• Phase I
• Assessment
• Monitoring
• Dr Suzanne Linnane,
• Mr Adam Carson,
• Ms Caroline Wynne,
• Ms Niamh Sweeney

• Phase II
• Septic Tanks
• Soil Status
• Farmyard Surveys
• Remediation Measures
• Mr Jim ODonohoe,
• Mr Tom McGoldrick,
• Dr Robert Cruikshanks,
• Dr Siobhan Jordan

5

• Phase I
• Assessment
• Monitoring

6
Milltown Lake catchment 33 sampling sites
7
(No Transcript)
8
Current status

• Catchment streams and rivers last assessed in May
  2004
• No improvement in water quality since then
  throughout the catchment in fact slight
  deterioration evident in many sites
• Phosphorus (nutrient loadings) and Secchi disk
  (water clarity) readings of Milltown Lake
  consistently place the lake in the eutrophic
  (polluted) category
• Chlorophyll a (algal biomass) readings place the
  lake in the mesotrophic - eutrophic category
• However, significant early evidence of
  cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) in the lake
  annual average likely to be eutrophic
• Total coliforms and E. coli readings in the
  unacceptably high status in approximately 50
  of sites sampled

9
Phase IISeptic TanksSoil StatusFarmyard
SurveysRemediation Measures
10
Septic tanks - reasons for concern

• Where septic tanks are not working properly, this
  too will have to be addressed, as these are
  thought to be one of the major sources of
  contamination of drinking water
  supplies.(National Rural Water Monitoring
  Committee, 2003)
• With an estimated 200,000 wells and springs in
  use in Ireland (Wright, 1999) the prevention of
  groundwater contamination from on-site domestic
  sewage effluent is of critical importance.(Gill
  et al. Environmental Protection Agency, 2005)
• Sources of E. coli and other faecal coliforms
  likely to contaminate groundwaters include septic
  tank effluent, agricultural organic wastes and
  landfill sites.(Water Quality in Ireland
  2000-2003, Environmental Protection Agency, 2005)

11
Research programme 6 stages

• Community information meetings
• Questionnaire survey of each household
• Desk study (maps and public records)
• Field survey (visual inspection and measurements)
• Detailed monitoring of small sample
• Report (present analyse data, make
  recommendations)

12

• Confidentiality agreement

13
Farm soil surveys

• Farmyard surveys of all farms to begin November
  2006 continued on a seasonal basis
• Data collected to be used in implementation of
  nutrient management plans and good farming
  practices
• Will include soil testing and analysis
• Initial survey being undertaken by RPS Consulting
  Engineers
• Information sessions planned on policies
  associated with Source Protection, e.g. Nitrates
  Directive, WFD, etc.

14
Soil Analysis
Seasonal soil analysis at each point of the
intersection on the grid Nutrient management
plans will be devised using this information
15
Wetland trials using a variety of locally
available resources are currently being
investigated including the use of

• Spent mushroom compost (SMC) in artificial
  constructed wetlands in the treatment of
  contaminated waters particularly those high in
  sulphur and heavy metals
• Wetland species will also be employed to absorb
  high nutrient content from enriched waters

16
Buffer Strips
Buffer strip installations absorb runoff
nutrients, pesticides and help reduce soil
erosion while providing wildlife corridors and
habitats.
17
(No Transcript)
18
Possible buffer strip species
African Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum)
Willow (Salix spp.)
Asian Elephant grass (Miscanthus spp.)
19
Bankside erosion resulting from unrestricted
cattle access
1 year post-works
20
Ongoing upcoming work

• Seasonal monitoring work - 34km2 of catchment
• Twice monthly water sampling of the lake
• Continuous recording of flow regime depth of
  the Drumleek River
• 24 hr sampling of Drumleek River
• GIS map of the catchment with hotspots
• Identification of potential threats well underway
• Septic tank survey
• Farmyard soil survey
• Remediation measures planned for Autumn 2006 in
  already identified risk areas
• Synergies with WFD
• Community involvement
• School visits re-commencing Autumn 2006
• Official launch of school initiative planned for
  November 2006
• Young Scientist teams for 2007 competition

21

• 10th International Conference on Diffuse
  Pollution and Sustainable Watershed Management
  (DipCon 2006)
• September 18-22
• Istanbul, Turkey

22
(No Transcript)
23
Community-based ProjectEducation Awareness
24
Education Awareness
25
School Visits 2006
26
(No Transcript)
27
(No Transcript)
28
(No Transcript)
29
(No Transcript)
30
(No Transcript)
31

• A combination of all these factors will allow the
  National Pilot Project at Churchill Oram to
• Create a full GIS map representing the source
  protection area (catchment) the potential
  contamination sites (hotspots)
• will include data on soil, geology, topography,
  forest cover, wetlands (natural artificial),
  crops groundwater
• Rank potential threats according to their degree
  of risk in impairing water sources identify
  areas in which water sources are vulnerable to
  these threats
• will be a useful tool in implementation
  management of the source protection plan
• Create implement a source protection plan using
  all of the information gathered in the previous
  steps
• will involve a combination of protection,
  rehabilitation remedial measures.

32

• Contact details
• National Centre for Freshwater Studies,
• Department of Applied Sciences,
• Dundalk Institute of Technology,
• Dublin Road,
• Dundalk,
• Co. Louth
• churchill-oram.project_at_dkit.ie
• www.dkit.ie (RD NCFS)

Phase I Dr Suzanne Linnane Mr Adam Carson Ms
Caroline Wynne Ms Niamh Sweeney

• Phase II
• Mr Jim ODonohoe
• Mr Tom McGoldrick
• Dr Robert Cruikshanks
• Dr Siobhan Jordan

33
National Federation of Group Water Schemes

• Water Services National Training Group
• 5th Annual Rural Water Services Conference
• 13th September 2006