Dysart River on longlist of Greenest Places 2025

The Dysart River Project has made the longlist of Ireland’s Greenest Places 2025 and is a contender to win the title Ireland’s Greenest Community and the overall title.

The project, the aim of which was to improve the quality of the River Dysart, which feeds into Lough Ennell, was among 120 places put forward by the public, and the only entry from Westmeath.

Deterioration of water quality in rivers and lakes occurs due to intensive agriculture and inappropriate development. Turning that around was the goal of Dysart River Project. Edel Ennis, Westmeath County Council Just Transition officer said that from 2018 to 2021 the water quality status was ‘poor’. A collaborative effort with 23 farmers in the catchment at its core worked with agencies to find solutions, including Local Authority Water Programme scientists and Teagasc experts.

“Farmers in the catchment wanted to play their part in protecting and improving water quality. Remedial actions such as solar-powered cattle drinkers on farms were put in place,” Edel added. After four years, it went to ‘good’ status. “This is a really good example of building awareness and getting people on board,” she says.

In May this year, the Westmeath Examiner carried (in the Midland Farm Focus supplement) an article describing the project. This is a shortened version: Joan Martin, Local Authority Water Programme (LAWPRO), said: “LAWPRO assessed the status of the river, looking at the biology, chemistry and all information available. We found that the Dysart Stream was not meeting its ecological objectives of ‘good’ water quality and we were having agricultural pollution in the stream. Excess phosphorous and sediment were causing water quality issues.”

Although the upper catchment of the stream had ‘good’ water quality status, the lower part, where it entered the lake, was deemed ‘moderate’. Animal faeces were identified as the source of the pathogens, which meant cattle slurry was escaping from farms to the stream feeding into the lake.

“Once aware of that, we carried out macroinvertebrate assessments and we walked certain sections of the river and pinned down the areas that we thought were more problematic than others. We referred those to the local Teagasc Agricultural Sustainability Support Advisory Programme (ASSAP) advisor to engage with the farming community in those areas.”

A PAA meeting was called with local farmers in July 2019 and the work to improve water quality in Lough Ennell began. David Fay, who farms on the shores of Lough Ennell, remembers: “All the local farmers came together, and Joan highlighted that the quality of the water was dropping and suggested measures we could take.” Once the local farmers became aware of the problem, David Webster, ASSAP adviser at Teagasc in Mullingar, became involved. “It was identified that slurry spreading at certain times of the year can be an issue with pathogens in the stream and also cattle access points – cattle drinking in the stream.

“Under Good Agricultural Practice Regulations, the farmer is obliged to keep 20 metres back from the lake, but I felt the 20 metres wasn’t sufficient.”

David Fay said: “My problem was that the cattle were going into the river to drink. I fenced off the drinking points and put in a solar pump to pump the water out of the river rather than letting the cattle into it. The water system has been a huge improvement, and we now have troughs all over the farm.” That has given more flexibility for his grazing strategy, and made David’s life easier. “I can split fields four ways now. We used to be guided by the fields and the drains and where animals could get in and out. We were constantly fencing because of cattle breaking them down.”

He agrees it is important to get the spreading of slurry right. “You have to be mindful of weather conditions, the height of grass and the time of the year you are doing it. With the weather, that can be challenging but it’s challenging for everyone,” he said.

Farmers were understandably cautious when first approached. “Initially you would be afraid in case you’d be getting the blame,” says David, “but then you start engaging with them (LAWPRO and ASSAP staff), and they were grand, no problem at all when doing the tasks.”

David and the other farmers on the Dysart stream now recognise the beneficial outcomes of their involvement in the WaterMARKE project. “When you work with it and get into the idea that the water quality is deteriorating in the country, these things do work and we are making a difference,” David said.

He also highlights the impact of the WaterMARKE project and how it “seems to have worked well with the water quality overall, and the other farmers seem to be quite happy”.

Westmeath County Council, LAWPRO and the Lough Ennell Trout Preservation Association (LETPA), have also launched the Lough Ennell Catchment Management Plan to help maintain standards.