As part of the Knowledge Exchange River Guardians programme supported by the Heritage Council as part of the Heritage Organisational Support Fund 2024, Project Officer Sean Toland and Carlene Lyttle and IRT founder and ACRES officer Trish Murphy travelled to Monaghan on a bright sunny Friday in September to find out about the projects of the River Blackwater Trust. The River Blackwater Trust was set up to protect and improve all the waterways of the River Blackwater basin, including Lough Neagh – for the advancement of environmental protection and improvement and for the benefit of the public.
Our interest in the visit was primarily to see the work they are doing in water quality monitoring, but thanks to the time from Alan McCabe we were able to see the actions of the River Blackwater Catchment Trust with landowners throughout these river catchments to change land management practices, reduce nutrient and sediment loss by installing nature-based solutions such as tree planting, creating buffer zones and peatland restoration.
We began the day at Emy Lough where Alan McCabe from the River Blackwater Catchment Trust showed us the water quality monitoring that is undertaken on behalf of the Glaslough/ Tyholland Group Water Scheme, one of the largest Group Water Schemes in County Monaghan providing drinking water for almost one thousand homes and businesses. The links between water quality measures and source protection and drinking water are felt more keenly by group water scheme measures. The Water Forum (An Fóram Uisce) survey of 1,518 water consumers in Ireland showed that group water scheme members have a greater awareness of where their drinking water comes from. Through continual water quality data collection Alan was able to link back his data to particular issues within the catchment, examples included one failed septic tank, a pump failure in a treatment plant, the misapplication of treatments to kill rushes, nutrient leaching from large dumps of chicken waste.
We are aware of the great work of the Group Water Schemes having our River Guardians Project pipped to the post for the LAMA All-Ireland Award in Feb 2024 for Best Green Sustainable Initiative by the Roscommon Source Protection Project. In Inishowen we have only one group water scheme, and according to the National Federation of Group Water Schemes Ireland’s Group Water Schemes (nfgws.ie) there are only 4 in the whole of Donegal.
An awareness of your drinking water source was an important tool Alan had used in his efforts to engage with farmers in catchment improvements, the River Blackwater Catchment Trust has worked with landowners to prevent cattle from accessing the river which stops bank erosion and reduces nutrient and sediment loss. The farmer engagement to keep livestock out of the water was evident from our tour upstream of Emy Lough, and the quality impact was demonstrable as the status in the fenced areas went from good to high status.
We were given an exciting view of the work of River Blackwater Catchment Trust to support the removal of approximately 60 hectares of self-seeding conifers and rhododendron as part of the Peatlands Community Engagement Scheme.
The visit gave an insight into the importance of monitoring and data collection for informed decision making on where to focus action. The continual monitoring of the water quality helps identify pollutants, nutrient loads, and sedimentation issues allowing for actions to be targeted. The visit showcased the effective actions of the River Blackwater Catchment Trust providing valuable lessons that can be applied to similar projects, and a real learning for the River Guardians initiative.
