The Groody river flows into the lower Shannon. The area includes part of the Ballyneety groundwater body, which is the drinking water supply for Caherconlish.
Agriculture and diffuse urban runoff: phosphate, ammonia and organic pollution
Diffuse urban pressures are mainly caused by misconnections, leaking sewers and runoff from paved and unpaved areas.
Channelisation and drainage has taken place that have resulted in loss of river habitat and changes to the flow regime.
Septic tanks in the upper reaches of this river are inadequate
Receiving water (Awbeg (Buttevant)_050 was failing to meet protected area objectives for Freshwater Pearl Mussel
Forestry / clear felling
Pre reg forestry may be responsible for the decline in biology (ortho-Phosphate and sediment).
Possible sediment issue linked to felling associated with windfarm construction. Corine land usage and soil maps show that the bulk of the waterbody is under forestry with much of this on peaty soils. This suggests that sediment is the significant issue impacting on water quality here. Linked to this is a possible nutrient issue (ammonium and phosphate) associated with sediment transport. Forestry felling may have released both sediment and nutrients to the waterbody.
The bulk of the sub-basin is under forestry
Forestry (clearfelling) as the sole significant pressure for Ogeen
Pressures indicated for Tyshe are agriculture and domestic wastewater
The elevated ammonia concentrations could also indicate the presence of farmyard point sources.
Six domestic wastewater systems with high – very high P impact potential along the north and south tributaries of the Tyshe
Agriculture and urban wastewater are listed as the significant pressures
New WWTP for Ardfert was installed in 2017
Dewatering at the Section 4 quarry
The quarry has a section 4 license and is being dewatered – approximately 2500 m3/d on average
Drinking water abstraction at Ardfert South comes under strain in dry summer
Nitrate concentrations are consistently high
Chloride concentrations are consistently high
Elevated nutrients, including orthophosphate, ammonium and nitrate, as well as sediment, are the significant issues
Hydromorphology The Tyshe River, falls within the Banna Drainage District. Kerry County Council has a statutory duty to maintain this Drainage District. The River Tyshe flows to the sea at Blackrock. The outfall at Blackrock is vulnerable to blockage from build-up of sand (Flood Risk Management Plan for the Tralee Bay-Feale River Basin, 2018). Sand and seaweed are excavated out of the channel opening. These works currently take place at least every two weeks, but this can be daily in the winter months. The annual cost of these works is estimated at approximately €150,000. The drainage systems back up when this outfall at Blackrock is not clear. Maintenance work is also carried out to keep tidal flaps, approx. 600m upstream of the outfall, functioning. Sluice gates are manually operated to close on high tides to prevent tide backing up on Tyshe River, once every few weeks (Flood Risk Management Plan for the Tralee Bay-Feale River Basin, 2018). As part of a national Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment, discontinuing the existing regime of removing silt and debris from the outfall at Blackrock is being explored
There is one operational biological monitoring station located at the outlet of Graney(Shannon)_040 at site ‘1km upstream of Scarriff Bridge’ 25G040300. This monitoring point is driving poor ecological status for this waterbody. There are no chemistry data for this site.
Most recent SLAM output gives 57% of phosphate as being from agriculture sources and 20% attributed to forestry.
Potential pressures around future forestry harvesting in the Anamullaghaun river catchment
Forestry areas planted prior to best forestry practice standards are considered legacy sites where there are often inadequate surface water management regimes in place and no adequate setbacks from watercourses. Therefore, forestry activities such as felling and thinning are potentially high risk pressures to water quality.
Sediment and possibly diffuse nutrient issue related to pressures from poorly draining peat and heavy soils used for agricultural and forestry
Potential significant pressures indicated for this waterbody are forestry upstream in Graney(Shannon)_050 particularly forestry planted on peat, urban diffuse run-off and hydromorphology due to channelisation.
Drainage channels particularly in areas with denser networks are likely pathways for delivering phosphate and sediments to watercourses.
Urban runoff / urban misconnection pressure.
Pre-AIE question: “Protect referrals are expected including for legacy forestry sites due to future clear felling and forestry planted on peat” – unclear what these referrals involve ? are they made to Forestry Service ?
Large portion of peatland has been reclaimed and is now used for agriculture.
Pollutants have the potential to enter the waterbody (phosphorus, sediment and pesticides) as their main pathways are overland flow and along drains and ditches, in poorly draining soils.
The significant pressure identified is agriculture.
Point source nutrient issues need to be addressed at farmyard level
WWTP
Mohill Urban Wastewater Treatment Plant discharges into Rinn_010
The plant was taking in landfill leachate, which it did not have the additional capacity to handle
The PAA feeds into the Longford Central drinking water supply, abstracted from Lough Forbes, this supply has been on the EPA remedial action list since 2017 for persistent pesticide exceedances.
Detection of MCPA above the drinking water limit
Section 4s
Section 4 Trade Effluent Discharge Licence at Lough Rynn Castle and Holiday Homes
Hydromorphology was selected as a significant pressure within Lough Rinn. The issues included the presence of locks, weirs, dams, and barriers.
Invasive species have been identified as significant issues within Lough Rinn & Lough Forbes. Zebra mussels are present in both lakes.
Abstractions were identified as issue within Lough Forbes, however it was not deemed significant. This is the drinking water abstraction plant for the Longford Central supply. This scheme serves Longford town and surrounding areas such as Clondara, Ballinalee, Drumlish, Edgeworthstown and Newtownforbes. The water is supplied from the Lough Forbes treatment plant. It is operated by Irish Water and abstracts 6970 m3/day. This supply is currently on the EPA remedial action list due to persistent detections of pesticides.
Peat extraction has been identified as a significant issue in Lough Forbes.
EPA initial characterisation predicts the significant pressure to be clear felling of forestry. Domestic waste water treatment systems as well as agriculture may also present possible pressures.
The 2016 sanitary survey carried out by the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority suggested that potential sources of contamination include slurry spreading and domestic waste water treatment systems.
Important shellfish area
No monitoring data are available on Adrigole Harbour, it is a protected area for shellfish and so would be sensitive to bacterial contamination. It is notable that there is another river inputting into the harbour (Cappanaparka_East_010). This is not included in the PAA but may also be a potential source of contamination, it is currently unassigned.
Sediment is affecting water quality on the Adrigole river. It is likely that sediment making its way to the streams from multiple sources including forestry, agriculture and possibly peat harvesting. Nutrient enrichment may also be causing issues
All three waterbodies are at Moderate Ecological Status (2010-2015) and are categorised as At Risk
There is no chemistry data available for any of the waterbodies
The significant pressures are identified as agriculture and hydromorphology
Pesticide Investigation
There is a surface water drinking abstraction point at Ballyboughlin bridge which is North of Clara, Co. Offaly. Pesticides have been detected within this supply above the drinking water limit over the last number of years, subsequently the supply was added to the EPA pesticide watch list in 2017. Due to the number of exceedances, in 2018 OCC generated a pesticide exceedance response plan to assist in identification of the source of pesticides within the drinking water catchment area.
There was just one sampling location in which a pesticide was detected above the drinking water limit (0.1μg/l), sampling location 13 detected Diflufenican-Triaz-LC- at 0.273μg/l. This sample was taken directly downstream of a horticultural nursery, whilst sampling location 14 (containing no pesticides) was taken directly upstream of the nursery. The most commonly detected pesticides within this sampling event included MCPA, Trichlopyr and Fluroxpyr.
Land use is predominantly pasture with small areas of cut peat towards the north east and south east. The main towns are Knocklong, Hospital (part overlies), Emly, Kilross and Knockainey.
There are three public drinking water abstractions in the sub-basin.
Most of the Drumcomoge river channel is under the Groody, Maigue and Deel OPW arterial drainage scheme and the channel profile is suggestive of fairly extensive channel modification here in the past.
River hydromorphology assessments (RHAT) undertaken in 2019 by Wetlands Survey Ireland as part of a survey of the wider Maigue catchment on behalf of the Maigue Rivers Trust classified one site near Knockainey as Good and eight sites as either moderate or poor. The report states that ‘the main factors contributing to Poor assessments were the previous channel alteration, loss of riparian vegetation, and cattle access to the river leading to erosion and sedimentation’.
Drumcomoge_010 is not currently monitored under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) for either biology or chemistry.
Significant issues are likely to be phosphate and sediment
Sediment and nutrients appear to be the significant issues in this waterbody. Agriculture is likely to be a significant pressure here in terms of nutrient (and possibly also sediment) pollution. Possible hydromorphology pressures include channel maintenance, channel alteration, land reclamation and bank erosion.
A0210-01 and A409-01
There are two urban wastewater treatment plants (UWWTPs) discharging to the sub-basin (Knocklong and Emly)
Local catchment assessments in the Bride (Cork City) PAA will focus on identifying and assessing urban pressures in both PAA waterbodies, looking for sources of phosphate, ammonium and organic pollution.
PAA waterbodies are unmonitored except for supporting chemistry which was assessed between 2012 and 2017 at seven pre WFD sites
Storm overflows may be a significant pressure
Sediment may also be a potential significant issue.
Significant urban misconnections
Altered habitat due to hydrological and morphological changes
In terms of nitrate contribution to the downstream catchment agriculture is a potential pressure
One of the 27 catchments included in the Freshwater Pearl Mussel Regulations (SI 269 of 2009). It is failing to meet the conservation objectives for Pearl Mussel under this legislation.
It is not clear what the issue impacting Caha is. Land use in the catchment consists of pasture and forestry. There is potential for sedimentation of the river substrate from recent forest clear-felling as well as historic quarries in the catchment. Both have been identified as potential significant pressures. Agriculture is primarily low intensity, but there are a few dairy farms in the area.
Coolkellure Lake is a 3.5-hectare (Type 7) lake, located in Coolkellure townland, close to the headwaters of Bandon. It is the drinking water source for Dunmanway (abstraction rate of 550 m3/day). It is currently at ‘Moderate’ status.
Ecological monitoring in Coolkellure lake indicates a nutrient issue in the lake. Macrophyte and phytoplankton communities both show enrichment.
Forestry has been identified as a potential significant issue in the catchment. The lake is bounded by conifer plantation forestry that has been recently clear-felled. Given the proximity to the lake, steep slopes and peaty soils there is the potential for sediment and nutrient runoff to the lake as a result. Local catchment assessment will focus on the tributary streams to assess from where significant issues might be occurring.
There are two quarries that are no longer operational. Both could have been a source of sediment to the river in the past
Additional information requirements
• Felling records needed for Coolkellure lake and Caha_020
• Additional information from Cork Co Co on quarry discharges in Caha 020
