Warning on pesticides as levels found in local water supplies
TWO water supplies in Wexford – South Regional and Clonroche – have been singled out for concern due to the level of pesticides that continue to be detected.
Clonroche is now on the EPA’s priority action list arising from concentrations of the chemical Bentazone which were detected in March and exceeded guidelines.
The South Regional water supply in Wexford, which serves thousands of households in a broad area including Duncormick, Wellingtonbridge, Bridgetown, Kilmore Quay, Ballycullane, Ramsgrange, Gusserane, Campile, Cullenstown and Duncannon, is on an Irish Water watch list, with the supply showing the presence of MCPA, a powerful and widely used herbicide, and fluroxypr, a herbicide used to control broadleaf weeds.
The revelation came as Irish Water appealed to farmers and other users of pesticides to exercise caution when spraying their lands.
The company stressed that while the pesticide levels detected do not pose any immediate risk to health, they are a cause for concern.
‘At a time of significant challenges for farmers and other essential workers managing land, we are asking everyone to continue to be mindful to protect water bodies,’ said Patrick Duggan, Irish Water’s Regional Drinking
Water Compliance Specialist.
He said supplies such as Clonroche and South Regional are vulnerable to contamination from land and animal run-off.
‘Irish Water asks users of pesticide products in the Owenduff River catchment and the boreholes that supply the Clonroche community to consider the vulnerablity of the South Regional drinking water supply to pesticide contamination and the importance of this supply to the local community,’ he said.
In Ireland, 82 per cent of drinking water supplies come from surface water sources such as rivers, lakes and streams.
According to Dr Aidan Moody, chair of the National Pesticides and Drinking Water Action Group (NPDWAG), pesticide users should always consider first if there are alternative non-chemical weed/pest control methods.
The NPDWAG (comprising representatives of local government departments, farming organisations, industry and the water and amenity sectors) under the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, is coordinating nationwide efforts to reduce pesticide levels
‘If pesticides have to be applied, users must make sure that they are aware of and follow best practice measures to protect water quality,’ he said.
MCPA accounted for the majority (63 per cent) of pesticide exceedances detected nationally in public water supplies during 2019, but Irish Water tests for a wide range of pesticides and is closely monitoring the situation for pesticides other than MCPA.
‘Irish Water is continuing its extensive investment programme to safeguard the water supply for homes, farms and businesses in Ireland,’ said Mr Duggan.
MCPA, which is commonly used to kill rushes on wet land, is the main offender, but other pesticides such as 2,4-D, fluroxypyr and MCPP (also known as mecoprop) are now being detected more frequently than in previous years.
Careless storage, handling or improper application of any pesticide product can easily result in traces ending up in drinking water, leading to breaches of the drinking water regulations.
The regulations are so stringent that a single drop of pesticide is enough to breach the drinking water limit in a small stream for up to 30 kilometres, highlighting the level of care needed to protect drinking water sources.
Farmers and landowners dealing with the challenge of tackling rushes are advised that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has new guidance on the sustainable management of rushes, based on containment and suppression and minimising the use of pesticides.
Clonroche is one of six priority areas in the country of particular concern to Irish Water, where exceedances of pesticides are persistent. While the number of public water schemes with elevated levels is very small in Ireland, there is growing evidence of pesticides in water sources as a result of run-off from weed control on hard surfaces, gardening, agriculture or forestry, according to Irish Water.