Pesticides detected in Arvagh and Belturbet drinking water

The public have been urged to consider alternatives to pesticides after exceedances for the MCPA were been detected in drinking water supplies in Arvagh and Belturbet.

MCPA is an active substance present in many commonly used herbicide products used to control the growth of thistles, docks and rushes. Exceedances were detected as part of Irish Water’s public water supply monitoring programme in June.

The Belturbet water supply abstracts raw water from the River Erne which is vulnerable to run-off from land, while the Arvagh water supply is supplied by Erne Valley Group Water Scheme which abstracts raw water from Garty Lough.

A spokesperson for Irish Water confirmed: “To date in 2021 we have had exceedances for MCPA at Belturbet and Arvagh Public Water Supply. These are currently the only supplies with known issues. All other schemes in Cavan are currently compliant.”

Irish Water is now asking users of any herbicide or pesticide products in these catchments to consider the vulnerability of the water supplies to pesticide contamination and the importance of this supply to the local homes and businesses in the community. Working in partnership with a range of organisations involved in the National Pesticides and Drinking Water Action Group (NPDWAG), Irish Water is asking the farming community, greens keepers, grounds keepers, and domestic users, to consider in each case whether they need to use pesticides at all.

Peter Gallagher for Irish Water said: “In Co Cavan, the exceedance of the drinking water regulations for MCPA was noted in the Belturbet public water supply and Arvagh public water supply following routine sampling this month.”

He said that while consultation with the HSE has concluded the levels seen “do not represent” a threat to public health, it is however “undesirable” and therefore imperative that users of pesticides are “mindful of best practice” when using herbicides or pesticides and seek out alternatives.

Source protection

Erne Valley Group Water Scheme is meanwhile participating in a recently launched National Federation of Group Water Schemes (NFGWS) project that will see the implementation of targeted source protection measures within its Garty Lough source catchment.