Tracking Flood Relief Projects, Water Abstraction & Pollution in Irish Rivers
Nitrates
Nitrate loss is most common in freely draining soils, where it leaches readily to groundwater
before being discharged into river systems and onwards to estuaries and coastal waters where it
causes water quality problems. In the freely draining catchments in the south east, nitrate losses
are closely correlated with farm intensity: the higher the application of nitrate to land, the higher
the nitrate concentrations in waters. Nitrogen losses from these catchments in the south east
of the country continue to rise, and are over double the annual losses from catchments in the
west.
Te Agricultural Sustainability, Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) was established in a collaborative process between the state and the dairy processing co-ops, to provide an evidence based approach to agri pressure identification.
The key operating principles of the ASSAP are: I. The ASSAP programme provides farm advice and support only II. It is voluntary and collaborative III. There is no connection to the regulatory and compliance mechanisms of the state
Aim of ASSAP: To provide a free and confidential advisory service for farmers located in the 190 priority areas for action (PAA’s) identified in the national river basin management plan 2018-2021 and to provide farmers with advice focused on the prevention of contaminant losses to waters with a view to attaining water framework directive water quality targets.
Funded by: EPA Research & Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
The objective of this project is to evaluate the extent, connectivity and nature of roadways and their role in nutrient transport. In time the project will devise and test mitigation strategies including best management practices and engineering solutions.
Achieving Water Framework Directive water quality goals requires reductions in nutrient point and diffuse sources, and mitigation of pathways delivering those nutrients to surface receptors. Farm roadways receive high concentrations of animal deposition and may have significant connectivity to receptors. Roadways have been little investigated relative to field areas with respect to their role in nutrient transport. Under the Nitrates Action Plan (NAP) all direct runoff from farm roadways to surface water or dry ditches will be prohibited from 2021.
To comply with the NAP discharge must be limited either by: preventing runoff generation (which is not always possible during high rainfall events)
by breaking the hydrologic connection to a watercourse by routing it to a suitable percolation area such as a field
This creates an imperative to adapt existing roadways which fail to meet the NAP criteria and to disseminate guidelines specifying the effective design of all new roadways.
The NAP indicates that ‘It will be necessary for the farmer, usually in consultation with the advisor, to determine the sections of farm roadways that require altering to prevent losses to waters.’ Farm roadways are well suited to the introduction of new best management practices or infrastructure improvements without negatively impacting stocking rate, overall herd numbers or land management. However, in the absence of a specific framework of characterisation it may prove difficult to ensure consistency of approach and selection of the optimal mitigation measure to each individual scenario. While guidance on the construction of roadways has been produced, this offers limited information on the repair, maintenance and improvement of existing roadways. It is focused on the influence of roadway condition on cattle lameness, rather than their role in hydrology and nutrient transport.
ROADRUNNER will evaluate the extent, connectivity and nature of roadways and their role in nutrient transport and in time will devise and test mitigation strategies including best management practices and engineering solutions.
ROADRUNNER Project Partners:
Teagasc:
Owen Fenton – Crops, Environment and Land Use Programme, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford
Karen Daly – Crops, Environment and Land Use Programme, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford
Pat Tuohy – Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy Co. Cork
University of Limerick:
Dr John Murnane –Faculty of Science and Engineering
Pete Lunn (ESRI), Seán Lyons (ESRI), Martin Murphy (ESRI)
We present an example of how so-called “big data” can be used to assist enforcement of environmental regulations. Every year approximately 2,000 farms in Ireland violate the EU Nitrates Regulations.
Although small as a proportion of over 130,000 farms, this number has varied little in recent years, reducing water quality and leading to penalties for farmers.
We analysed the characteristics of farms and farmers that had exceeded the regulatory limit on nitrogen per hectare (NPH).
We combined digital files from the Department of Agriculture to generate a single dataset containing over 1.2 million records that detail annual nitrates emissions on individual Irish farms from 2006 to 2015.
The aim was twofold: to understand factors behind noncompliance and to build a predictive model that can be used to target behavioural interventions designed to help farmers to comply.
Note: this is a good example of application of Open Data Directive. A lot of data is published in pdf or other formats that make analysis impossible. For example, you cannot overlay this map with catchment maps or nitrates or other data. You can submit raw data request via EIA, but ideally Dept would publish all datasets with an API to conform with the Directive, which came into force in July
If you have an Open Data request cc to the relevant Dept FOI Officer and cc to Helena.Campbell@per.gov.ie and PaulD.Fitzpatrick@per.gov.ie at the Open Data Unit
The second Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) interim report, from Teagasc and Dairy Sustainability Ireland, focuses on the continued provision of the ASSAP advisory service and interaction with farmers up until the 31st December 2020.
Progress was made on identifying issues in PAA’s and the implementation of actions on farms with 1,810 farms assessed in total and 391 follow up farm visits conducted. This is despite the impact the Covid 19 pandemic had on the implementation of the programme in 2020 due to restrictions on farm visits.
Diffuse losses of phosphorus (P), sediment and nitrogen (N) to waters continue to dominate as water quality pressures. The loss of P through overland flow, nutrient management, buffers and livestock access to watercourses were identified as key issues contributing to the pressures on waters.
Notes from WFD National Technical Implementation Group minutes (Feb 2020)
ASSAP (Noel Meehan)
o ASSAP are making steady progress with 1247 farm visits and assessments made, and 80 farmer meetings in 68 PAAs. o There has been a very high level of engagement (96%) although this is expected to slip slightly in future because initial contact has been made with existing Teagasc clients. 90% of farmers who engage have agreed to implement measures. o 75% of the pressures are from diffuse sources. The main issue is phosphorus reaching watercourses via overland flow on saturated soils and sedimentation which has been found to be a greater issue than expected. There is generally poor implementation of nutrient management plans. Moving drinking water access points and installing stream fencing are among the most challenging measures to implement, with a 50% refusal rate, because of the costs, prospect of a future grant, and/or properties being rented.
o Where new buffer margins are recommended by ASSAP in a PAA, the area inside the fence remains eligible for the basic payment scheme which is a significant recent change that should help to provide an incentive. o The issues around data protection have been resolved but require a legislative amendment so they can be implemented. o The focus for the coming months is to concentrate on revisiting farmers to assess whether the measures have been implemented. o ASSAP advisors are exchanging knowledge and cross-pollinating with other Teagasc advisors. For example, 160 discussion groups have had ASSAP advisor input and there has been integration and training with the other advisors
Summary: This report provides an update on the results of water quality monitoring to support the assessment of the impact of the nitrate’s derogation on Irish waters, as required under Regulation 38 of the European Union (Good Agricultural Practices for the Protection of Waters) (Amendment) Regulations.
New research analyses which farms and farmers exceed emissions limits set by the EU Nitrates Regulations.
Violations are most likely when a farm business undergoes substantive change, perhaps via an alternative business model, expanded production, or the buying or selling of land.
Violations reduce water quality and lead to penalties for farmers.
Damien is on the Banville farm in Wexford to find out more about how new Nitrate directives are affecting farmers and the importance of improving water quality.
