Catchment News

Home News Local Authority Waters Programme holds River Boyne workshop to develop a water quality community forum

Local Authority Waters Programme holds River Boyne workshop to develop a water quality community forum

July 18, 2024 by EPA Catchments Unit | in 3rd Cycle 2022-2027, Catchment Management, Get involved, News, Stories, Water and Communities, Water Framework Directive

The Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) held a workshop on public participation in water catchment management in the Newgrange Hotel in Navan on Wednesday 26 June 2024.  Representatives from 30 different local community organisations were in attendance.

Community groups and representatives from across the River Boyne Catchment Area (Meath, Westmeath, Offaly, Cavan, Louth, Kildare) met to discuss and co-design a community forum model for the Boyne catchment and catchments across Ireland, focused on improving local water quality and ways to actively include communities in the river basin management process.  This is part of a wider initiative nationally to develop a model for community and public participation as part of the next River Basin Management Plan which will be published shortly.

The River Basin Management Plan is Ireland’s roadmap for restoring and protecting water quality, across the 46 river catchments in Ireland. An ambition in the plan, is to put in place community fora that meet the needs of local communities when it comes to involvement in water quality management.

The River Boyne catchment was chosen as one of five pilot areas to for the workshops on account of its geography, its affected habitats as well as the wide range of sectors and industries operating within it but also its community capacity displayed in such innovative work as the Boyne Visioning from the Boyne Rivers Trust in 2023.

The River Boyne workshop in full flow with active participants engaging on Wednesday 26 June in Navan.

On the day of the workshop, Margaret Keegan, LAWPRO Regional Coordinator set the workshop context and outlined the importance of this work for enhance public participation in Ireland. Stephen Davis from the Midlands and East catchment science team in LAWPRO gave a presentation on the water quality status of the Boyne. Detailed maps of the water quality pressures for the Boyne were displayed on the day for attendees to review.

Caroline Gardner with Quality Matters outlined the purpose of the workshop and facilitated the session, with the support of LAWPRO staff from its catchment science and community teams. A range of questions and potential management scenarios for the participants were put forward for consideration and discussion including models for what a community forum may look like but primarily taking the communities views on board with all feedback recorded.

There were some questions specific to the Boyne Catchment concerning water quality challenges posed by different sectors including legacy drainage on reaches of the catchment in terms of hydromorphology impacts, urban wastewater treatment in towns and Agriculture. Other issues raised at the workshop were captured with a view to addressing in more detail at a later stage with the output from the process.

“It was very informative, and it put us all on the spot in terms of our water challenges locally.  It would be great to keep in touch with the attendees afterwards and continue this water conversation given the great mix of ideas people had towards catchment management planning. It’s important this builds on previous work and communities have voices on their water heard in this process”.

Rachael Fish, Athboy Tidy Towns
Some of the River Boyne Workshop Participants at the end of the CCF workshop on Wednesday 26 June in Navan.

“We were delighted with the level of engagement from community organisations in the River Boyne catchment. These informative discussions will help LAWPRO to design a model for catchment community fora and have strongly highlighted the supports needed to implement at a local level. We know there is a strong community capacity within the Boyne area as displayed through the Boyne Visioning from the Boyne Rivers Trust in 2023.”

Basil Mannion, Senior Community Water Officer with LAWPRO

Quality Matters will take the workshop feedback and information and prepare a synthesis report which will be brought forward, along with the other pilot outputs to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for consideration during implementation of the next River Basin Management Plan.

Representatives on the day included the Boyne Rivers Trust, Boyne Catchment Angling Association including Navan Anglers, Kells Anglers and Longwood Anglers, Athboy Tidy Towns, Delvin Tidy Towns, Mullingar Tidy Towns, Virginia Tidy Towns, Drogheda Tidy Towns, Solstice Arts Centre, Wild About Navan, Meath Birdwatch, Trim Tidy Towns, Bettystown Tidy Towns, Friends of Castle Lake Catchment (Bailieborough), St. Annes Parish Green Group (Bailieborough),  Sonairte National Ecology Centre (Laytown), Ramparts Nature and Inland waterways Group (Navan), Meath Heritage and Historical Society (County wide), Boyne Currach Heritage Group (Slane), Free Trees Ireland (Oldcastle), Mullagh Sports Partnership, Edenderry Tidy Towns,  Clane Tidy Towns, Knockirr Bog Group, North Kildare Salmon and Trout Anglers and Kildare Bat Group (county wide) as well as interested private individuals.

Learn more:

www.lawaters.ie

Related Posts

About author

EPA Catchments Unit

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.

LAWCO

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.

EPA

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.

DECLG

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.