Cavan Town residents no longer consuming pesticides in their water

After two years of drinking excessive levels of pesticide in their water, the people of Cavan Town are finally receiving an acceptable water supply.

Over 12,000 Irish Water customers receive their supply from Cavan Regional Water Supply, which is sourced from Lough Acanon. The supply had five exceedances for the pesticide MCPA in 2018, two exceedances in 2019, and none in 2020.

Works are however continuing at Belturbet to address the exceedances issue there. Belturbet is supplied from the River Erne and has had persistent exceedances for MCPA in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and is also on the RAL. Works are continuing in the Lough Erne catchment to improve water quality. Two other public water supplies in Cavan, Ballyjamesduff and Arvagh have also recorded recent sporadic exceedances for MCPA and remain under surveillance.

Since the high number of pesticide exceedances recorded in 2018 in Cavan Regional Water Supply, Irish Water working in partnership with a range of organisations involved in the National Pesticides and Drinking Water Action Group (NPDWAG) provided advice and guidance to all users of pesticides including the farming community, greens keepers, grounds keepers and domestic users, to ensure that best practice measures in relation to the safe use of pesticides to protect drinking water quality are always followed.

Through this initiative, pesticide concentrations from the Cavan Regional Water Supply are now compliant with the EU Drinking Water Regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now removed Cavan Regional Water Supply from its Remedial Action List (RAL), as the water is now fully compliant in relation to pesticides.

Products for grassland weed control containing substances such as MCPA, fluroxypyr and 2,4-D and others have been detected in drinking water supplies across Ireland including Cavan Regional Water Supply Scheme in 2018 and 2019. The detected levels sometimes exceed the legally permitted limit for pesticides in drinking water, which is set at an extremely low value - the oft cited example is the equivalent to one drop in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Cavan Regional Water Supply is the third water supply scheme in Cavan, which historically had MCPA exceedances but are now compliant. Water supplies impacted by pesticides in Killeshandra and Gowna came back into compliance in 2019, through similar catchment-focussed engagement actions.

Efforts to reduce the incidence of persistent pesticide detections such as those in Belturbet are being coordinated by the NPDWAG which is chaired by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). A catchment focus group comprising members of the key stakeholders has been working in the Cavan and Belturbet Catchments for some time.

“Cavan Regional Water Supply was placed on the Remedial Action List because of pesticide concentrations being persistently above the limits permitted by the EU Drinking Water Regulations,” said Dr. Pat O’Sullivan, Irish Water’s Regional Compliance Specialist. “Intensive catchment-focussed engagement actions involving Irish Water and relevant stakeholders to achieve compliance for pesticides was undertaken in 2019 and 2020 and the EPA are now satisfied that the scheme can be removed from the RAL. This has proven to be a great result and is reflective not only of the work carried out by all the stakeholders but also of the community at large that worked with us. Each of us has a role to play in being mindful of the environment, in protecting our pollinators and the health of our communities.”

Farmers and other landholders dealing with the challenge of tackling rushes should note that the DAFM has developed new guidance on the sustainable management of rushes. The new approach is based on the concepts of containment or suppression and aims to minimise the use of pesticides. More information on this can be obtained from your local farm advisor or on www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/sud/waterprotection

Pat continued: “Irish Water is asking all relevant bodies who can help solve this issue of pesticides in drinking water to continue to work together. We hope through continued engagement actions with all users of pesticides including the farming community, greens keepers, grounds keepers and domestic users, that best practice measures to protect drinking waters are always followed.”