The elected members of Westmeath County Council have voted to adopt the final River Basin Management Plans for the protection and improvement of all waters in the Shannon and Eastern River Basins, both of which transect County Westmeath. The plans are to come into effect on July 9 this year, and will remain in place until 2015.
However, there was concern among councillors last week when it emerged that the resources required to implement the plans is likely to exceed the current capacity of the council.
“We clearly can’t meet the requirements without the appropriate funding from the department. There is no clarification from the department as to how plans can be implemented if funding is not made available,” said Cllr Mark Cooney.
The river basin plans, which are required under the EU Water Framework Directive, aim to protect and improve surface and ground waters so that the people, animals, and plants that depend on the waters can use them in a sustainable way. The implementation of the plans will lead to at least ‘good’ status for all of the county’s waters.
Local authorities, including Westmeath County Council, have developed these plans to provide an objective scientific approach to meeting the required water standards. All public bodies and other stakeholders were consulted extensively in the process, while the views of the public were also actively sought and taken on board.
Three quarters of Westmeath falls into the Shannon River Basin District, while the remainder comes under the Eastern River Basin. The county is also subdivided into smaller water management units (WMUs ) to aid the management of surface and ground water.
According to Westmeath County Council, the plans’ targets are ambitious, yet they are no more than are required by EU and national legislation.
“The plans identify pressures on waters and the stakeholders that are responsible for reducing or mitigating them. Measures to address the pressures have been examined and the likelihood of water quality recovery has been assessed. Responsibility for taking measures lies with all public bodies whose activities impact on water quality or who regulate such activities,” said a council spokesperson.
“Local authorities must perform their own activities in a way that will promote achievement of objectives and additionally must carry out a range of environmental monitoring and enforcement activities to ensure that other stakeholders’ actions will lead to water quality improvements.”
The River Basin Management Plans affecting Westmeath are available to view online at www.shannonrbd.com and www.erbd.ie
