Concerns of locals raised at public water meetings

Two public meetings took place recently in the Glasshouse Hotel, Sligo and in Cawley’s Hotel, Tubbercurry - asking the question “Do your local waters matter to you?”.

The meetings attracted a broad range of interests from the local community including anglers, tidy towns, farmers, those involved in recreational businesses on the water and persons involved in education.

Environment staff from Sligo County Council were in attendance as were local Councillors.

The focus was the draft River Basin Management Plan for Ireland ( 2018 - 2021) and how local communities can put forward concerns about their local waterbodies. There was also discussion on how communities can get involved in water quali- ty protection and management in Ireland and how everybody has a say and a right to be heard.

The new Community Water Officer for Sligo - Karen Kennedy presented this information and highlighted the role of the Waters and Communities Office. The Office, which is a shared service for all 31 Local Authorities, was set up to promote public participation and engagement of communities in the management of the local water environment.

A lively discussion took place in both venues on various local issues affecting water quality in rivers, lakes and coastal waters.

Amongst the local issues raised were the need for upgrading of wastewater treatment facilities, the threat of invasive species due to increased users accessing rivers and lakes, the impact of aquaculture on native salmon and sea trout, problems associated with increased littering and dumping along our waterways and the need for increased regulatory enforcement and personnel to carry out this work.

Also highlighted was the need for more awareness and education programmes on how people can protect their waters.

Those in attendance were invited to make a submission to the draft River Basin Management Plan on the issues raised at the meeting, citing specific concerns and possible solutions.

The draft Plan is open for public consultation until 31 August and submissions can be emailed to RBMP@ housing. gov. ie.