Members of Kilkenny County Council have heard that 50 per cent of Kilkenny’s waters are of a high or good-quality rating which means that at least half of Kilkenny’s rivers and streams are of low quality.
The members were given a presentation on the South East River Basin project, by project co-ordinator Ray Spain, at this month’s meeting of Kilkenny County Council.
Mr Spain said that the objective of the project was to bring good-quality water status to our rivers, lakes, canals and other groundwaters leading to sustainable management for future generations by 2015.
“It’s about land use. What we do on our land affects our waters. In Kilkenny, the EPA believes that 29 per cent of waters are not up to standard but that is with a new testing method - we believe that 49 per cent is not compliant with our standards,” said Mr Spain.
The first draft plan of the South East River Basin report will be published by December 22 in four volumes. It will look at what is causing water problems and what the plan wishes to achieve.
“Work will be done on a county by county basis and will include implementation plans such as farm inspections, septic tank inspections, forming closer relations with public bodies and there will be a strong emphasis on enforcing legislation that is already in place.
The plan will go on public display at the end of January and it is hoped that the final plan will be adopted by October ‘09.
Director of Services Philip O’ Neill said that information leaflets on the maintenance of septic tanks will be disseminated and an education programme on the protection of water will also be put in place.
