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Home News Ballineen and Enniskeane Tidy Towns in County Cork win the top prize for water quality in SuperValu TidyTowns National Awards

Ballineen and Enniskeane Tidy Towns in County Cork win the top prize for water quality in SuperValu TidyTowns National Awards

Ballineen and Enniskeane Tidy Towns in Co. Cork have been announced as the overall winner of the Waters and Communities Special Award 2024 at the SuperValu TidyTowns awards ceremony held in Croke Park on Friday 1 November. The Waters and Communities Special Award is sponsored by the Local Authority Waters Programme, Waterways Ireland and Inland Fisheries Ireland.

Almost 50 applications were received for the TidyTowns Waters and Communities Special Award with the top cash prize of €2,000 for the group that demonstrated water stewardship in their local waterbody.

*Renting goats to manage invasive species.*

Ballineen and Enniskeane Tidy Towns members participated in Water Biodiversity Training and went on to work with an ecologist to create a Biodiversity Action Plan for their local waterbody – the River Bandon and carried out significant studies on various species living on the river. The group conducted a citizen science study on the flora and fauna of the river and engaged a green solution to dealing with invasive species – renting goats. Their projects on repairing riparian zones, developing designated solitary bee habitat, woodland tree planting and dead hedge removal have attracted other interested groups.

The judging panel agreed that the members of Ballineen and Enniskeane Tidy Towns submitted an impressive application which showcased how groups can support their local waterbody. The level of stewardship, dedication and passion in improving the river Bandon stood out and deserves recognition at this national level.

Congratulations to the other regional winners and highly commended awards and thank you to our partners SuperValu for hosting this competition.

Winners of the Waters and Communities Award 2024

Community group	County	Region	Prize money
Ballineen and Enniskeane Tidy Towns Association	Cork	South West Winner and Overall Winner	€2,000
Bettystown Tidy Towns	Meath	Midlands & East Winner	€1,000
Ballinahown Community Development	Westmeath	Midlands & East Highly Commended	€500
Cuan Beo Environmental	Galway	North West & Wets Winner	€1,000
Emyvale Tidy Towns	Monaghan	North West & West Highly Commended	€500
Cahir Tidy Towns	Tipperary	South East Winner	€1,000
Durrow Tidy Towns	Laois	South East Highly Commended	€500
Castleconnell Tidy Towns	Limerick	South West & Mid West Highly Commended	€500

Learn more:

LA Waters Programme Press Release: Cork based Tidy Towns group scoops top prize for water quality in SuperValu TidyTowns National Awards

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EPA Catchments Unit

Administrator

The EPA Catchments Unit is based in Dublin, and the team is involved with catchment science, chemistry, ecology, hydromorphology, modelling, Geographic Information Systems and planning. We work with the wider EPA, all of our local authorities, the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and other public bodies and Departments to ensure we have the best available data and information about our catchments.

Who is involved?
Quite simply, everyone in Ireland has a role to play. This can be from something as simple as making sure you don’t pollute your local stream, or a local community working together to establish a Rivers Trust to enhance the rivers and lakes in their area, to a Government Department or Agency helping a Minister implement a new policy to help protect and enhance all our water bodies.

This website has been developed and is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Local Authority Waters Programme.

Local Authority Waters Programme

The Local Authority Waters Programme coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan, and supports local community and stakeholder involvement in managing our natural waters, for everyone’s benefit.

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA is responsible for coordinating the monitoring, assessment and reporting on the status of our 4,842 water bodies, looking at trends and changes, determining which waterbodies are at risk and what could be causing this, and drafting environmental objectives for each.

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Department is responsible for making sure that the right policies, regulations and resources are in place to implement the Water Framework Directive, and developing a River Basin Management Plan and Programme of Measures to protect and restore our waters.