Carricknabraher Priority Area for Action – Deskstudy Summary

This is a summary of the deskstudy for the Carricknabraher Priority Area for Action (PAA), Co. Roscommon. Deskstudies are reports that are prepared by the catchment scientists using available information and data. To write these reports, we use information available for all waters that we plan to assess in the PAA. We get our information from:

• The Environmental Protection Agency • Local Authorities • Inland Fisheries Ireland • Irish Water • The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine • Other public agencies.

The deskstudy also includes information learned from the public at a community information meeting specific to the Carricknabraher PAA which was held on the 26th July 2021.

In our deskstudies, we examine a number of things:

• quality – how the water quality has changed since 2007 • importance – for example, if its water is used for drinking water, and if there are any rare plants or animals in it that we need to protect • impacts from human activity – here we focus on impacts that damage water quality such as from wastewater discharges, agriculture, forestry practices, physical changes to the water etc.

We complete desk studies first before starting our field-based assessments or local catchment assessments (LCAs).

1. Background and Location

LAWPRO catchment scientists work in specific catchment areas called Priority Areas for Action (PAAs). The Carricknabraher PAA covers an area of approximately 142 km2 in the north of Co. Roscommon, between Castlerea and Boyle. The PAA is made up of six waterbodies; five river waterbodies which are distinguished by a unique name and number, and one lake waterbody (shown in Figure 1): Carricknabraher_010 rises in the west of the PAA and forms the Carricknabraher River that flows in an easterly direction and crosses the N5 road to the south of Frenchpark at Cloonshanville Bridge, and transitions to the Carricknabraher_020 waterbody. The Owennaforeesha_010 rises in the south of the PAA and flows in a northerly direction and forms the Owennaforeesha River that crosses the N5 road at Bellanagare and transitions into the Breedoge_010 waterbody. From here, the

Owennaforeesha River continues to flow north and joins the Carricknabraher River at Loughbally Bridge, near Cloonshanville Bog to the west of Frenchpark. Mantua_010 rises in the east of the PAA, to the west of Elphin, and forms the Mantua River that flows in a westerly direction. The Mantua River crosses into the Breedoge_010 waterbody close to Kilnamryall, and then transitions into the Breedoge River and continues to flow west until being joined by the converged Carricknabraher and Owennaforeesha Rivers, to the east of Cloonshanville Bog. The Breedoge River then flows north and is joined by the Bella River which is formed by several tributaries that flow west from an area to the south of Ballinameen, in the Breedoge_010 waterbody. The Finisclin River, which is formed by the outflow from Treanamarly Lough in the Granny_010 waterbody, flows in a westerly direction and joins the Breedoge River close to the townland of Breedoge, which also marks the exit point of the river from the Carricknabraher PAA. From here, the Breedoge River flows in a north-westerly direction before entering Lough Gara.

This area was selected as a PAA in order to build on improvements at the Frenchpark wastewater treatment plant; because there are two deteriorated waterbodies in the PAA; and the waters in the PAA ultimately flow into Lough Gara.

Figure 1: The Carricknabraher PAA

2. Catchment Description

A catchment is an area of land around a river, lake, or other body of water. Rainwater that falls in the catchment flows to the river and lakes.

The main settlements in the catchment area of the Carricknabraher PAA are the villages of Frenchpark, Bellanagare and Ballinameen, with most of the area typical of north Roscommon. Agricultural pastures are the principal land type, with the rest of the land covered by coniferous forestry and peat bogs. Soils are generally wet throughout the PAA and are either peaty or poorly drained. The waterbodies within the Carricknabraher PAA are important for several reasons. The Breedoge River that flows out of the PAA enters Lough Gara, which is a designated drinking water lake and a Special Protection Area on account of the internationally important populations of Greenland White- fronted Goose and Whooper Swan that are associated with the lake. The Finisclin River in the north of the PAA is also a designated drinking water river. There are several peatland sites that are designated for protection within the PAA and that support a range of habitats and species. Bellanagare Bog and Clonshanville Bog have both been designated as Special Areas of Conservation with water dependent habitats and species, including raised bog. Bellanagare Bog is also a Special Protection Area as it was known to be utilised by part of an important Greenland White-fronted Goose population. The geese appear to have since abandoned this peatland site in favour of grassland sites elsewhere, but red grouse are still known to occur at this site. There are three Natural Heritage Areas also located in the north of the PAA and that all have peatlands as qualifying interests. These are the Bella Bridge Bog, Cornaveagh Bog and Tullaghan Bog. These Natural Heritage Areas support a good diversity of raised bog microhabitats. 3. Water Quality History in the Carricknabraher PAA

Rivers and lakes are classified into five quality classes (status), with high status being unpolluted and bad status the most polluted. High Good Moderate Poor Bad

The EPA assign status at (approximately) 3-yearly intervals based on the standards set out in the Water Framework Directive. Status is based on many different elements that altogether indicate the overall health of the river, for example the biology and ecology recorded in river and lake habitats, the physico-chemical condition of the waterbodies (i.e. oxygen levels, nutrient concentrations, indicators of organic and chemical pollution, etc.) and also the physical condition of the river bed and bank or lake shore.

We need to make sure that the Carricknabraher_010, Carricknabraher_020, Owennaforeesha_010 and Breedoge_010 achieves their Good Status objective. The Mantua_010, Granny_010 and Treanamarly Lough are unassigned and therefore their environmental objectives have not been set until their water quality is better known. We have reviewed water quality data available for each of the waterbodies and we have found that:

• Carricknabraher_010: This river has consistently achieved Good status since 2007 and is achieving it’s objective. This Good Status needs to be protected. • Carricknabraher_020: This river has been at Poor Status since 2010 and is therefore failing to achieve it’s Good Status objective. We are unsure what is causing this unsatisfactory water quality and LCA will be required to establish the impacting pressures. The EPA has identified Extractive Industry and Hydromorphology as significant pressures. • Owennaforeesha_010: This river is currently at Good Status and is achieving it’s objective. This status needs to be protected. The EPA has identified Agriculture, Urban Run-off and Hydromorphology as significant pressures.

• Breedoge_010: This river has been at Poor Status since 2010 and is therefore failing to meet it’s Good status objective. We are unsure what is causing this unsatisfactory water quality and LCA will be required to establish the impacting pressures. The EPA has identified Extractive Industry, Hydromorphology, Forestry and Urban Run-off as significant pressures. • Mantua_010, Granny_010 and Treanamarly Lough: These water bodies are not monitored by the EPA and therefore are unassigned. LCA will seek to gather water quality information and determine if they are impacted or not.

Table 1: Ecological status, pressures and significance in the Carricknabraher PAA

Ecological Status EPA Characterisation Significant Desk Study Review Desk study Review EPA Characterisation WB Pressure Potential additional Potential Significant WB Name Risk 2007 2010 2013 2016 Significant Issue Type Category (Sub-category) pressures Issue – – - - (2013-2015) (2013-2015) (2019) (2019) 2009 2012 2015 2018 Extractive Industry (Peat), Altered habitat due to Hydromorphology (Land Not at Morphological Carricknabraher_010 River Good Good Good Good N/A N/A Drainage), Forestry and Risk changes, Sediment and Anthropogenic (Road Nutrient Pollution Construction) Extractive Industry (Peat) and Altered habitat due to Hydromorphology (Land Drainage) Organic Pollution and Altered Morphological Urban Wastewater (Agglomeration Anthropogenic (Road Carricknabraher_020 River Review M1 Poor Poor Poor habitat due to Morphological changes, Sediment, PE 500 to 1,000) and Forestry Construction)2 changes Organic Pollution and (Clearfelling) identified as non- Nutrient Pollution significant pressures Agriculture (Farmyards), Urban Altered habitat due to Run-off (Diffuse Sources Run-off) Nutrient Pollution, Organic Morphological and Hydromorphology (Land Owennaforeesha_010 River Review M Good M Good Pollution and Altered habitat Extractive Industry (Peat) changes, Sediment, Drainage) due to Morphological changes Organic Pollution and Forestry (Forestry) identified as Nutrient Pollution non-significant pressure Forestry (Clearfelling), Extractive Industry (Peat - Harvesting), Hydromorphology (Land Drainage) Altered habitat due to and Urban Run-off (Diffuse Sources Nutrient Pollution, Organic Morphological Anthropogenic (Road Breedoge_010 River At risk Good Poor Poor Poor Run-off) Pollution and Altered habitat changes, Sediment, Construction) Agriculture (Pasture) and Urban due to Morphological changes Organic Pollution and Wastewater (Agglomeration PE < Nutrient Pollution 500)3 identified as non-significant pressures

1 M = Moderate 2 The N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge Road Project is due to pass through the south of the Carricknabraher PAA when constructed. 3 Bellanagare and Environs UWWTP (Certificate of Authorisation License Code: A0283-1) and Ballinameen and Environs Wastewater Treatment Works (Certificate of Authorisation License Code: A0286-1) each support an agglomeration of PE < 500 and discharge to surface waters in the Breedoge_010 waterbody; EPA Characterisation identified both as non-significant pressures.

4. Sources of Pollution

Pollutants find their way to rivers by a number of paths:

• They can be piped directly to the river from large sources such as wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), or small sources such as faulty septic tanks, farmyards, roadside drains etc. • They can flow across the ground to the river when nutrients which are applied to the land as fertiliser are washed off by rainfall before the crop and soil has absorbed them. This is usually a problem where soils are wetter and poorly draining, particularly during wet weather. • Groundwater losses occur when pollutants move down through the soil and rock into groundwater and eventually into rivers, lakes and coastal waters. This usually occurs when too much fertiliser is applied to land, or when the soil isn’t ready to absorb the nutrient (e.g. temperatures too cold, incorrect soil pH etc) and is common in free-draining/ light soils.

Hydromorphology was identified as a significant pressure in the Carricknabraher_020, Owennaforeesha_010 and Breedoge_010 waterbodies. However, nearly all river channels in the Carricknabraher PAA are part of the Boyle arterial drainage scheme. This has led to the deepening and straightening of most of the river channels in the PAA (a process called channelisation), and which has altered their natural flow and sediment regimes, as well as habitats due to these morphological changes. Under the arterial drainage scheme, river channels are maintained by the Office of Public Works (OPW) on a 4 to 5 year cycle.

The extraction of peat was identified as a significant pressure in the Carricknabraher_020 and Breedoge_010 waterbodies. Based on aerial imagery, there are potentially degraded peatland sites located throughout the PAA where peat extraction is suspected to occur or where peatlands appear to have been drained. Peat extraction only appears to occur on a small scale in multiple areas throughout the PAA, most likely carried out by local landowners for domestic purposes. Degraded peatlands, and the drainage channels associated with them often leads to the loss of sediment and nutrients to receiving surface waters.

Agriculture, and issues associated with some farmyards was identified as a significant pressure in the Owennaforeesha_010 waterbody. The extensive and almost exclusive presence of peat and poorly drained soils throughout the PAA provides a pathway for pollutants such as phosphorus and sediment to make their way into rivers in this area via drainage channels and small streams. Phosphate losses within a catchment are strongly related to soil type, with wet, poorly draining soils causing rainfall to run over the land surface and enter nearby watercourses. Some areas in the catchment are at greater risk from phosphate and sediment losses and these areas will be assessed during LCAs.

Forestry has been characterised as a significant pressure impacting on water quality in the Breedoge_010 RWB due to clearfelling operations. Coillte and privately owned forestry plantations are common throughout the area, with coniferous forestry covering 17% of land in the PAA. Forestry planted after 1990 would have been subject to new Forest Service guidelines regarding management of forestry along watercourses that minimises impacts on water quality. Approximately 30% of forestry in the PAA would have been planted prior to 1990, and these plantations therefore may pose a greater risk to water quality compared to forestry planted post-1990.

Urban run-off was identified as a significant pressure in the Owennaforeesha_010 and Breedoge_010 waterbodies. It is suspected that in both Bellanagare and Ballinameen, half of the premises aren’t connected to the WWTPs. There are also issues with potential misconnections in

7 these villages, so a lot of the wastewater may not be getting directed to the WWTP and is instead going to a surface water drain and being discharged untreated to watercourses. Wastewater can lead to water pollution, risks to public health and the degradation of habitats and ecosystem health when discharged untreated to streams.

Urban wastewater was not identified as a significant pressure, but the deskstudy indicates potential issues with a stormwater overflow at the Frenchpark WWTP, and issues with treatment capacity at the Bellanagare and Ballinameen WWTPs. If untreated or inadequately treated wastewater is being discharged to waterbodies from these WWTPs, it will have a negative impact on water quality. This will be assessed during LCAs. 5. Next Steps

Community Engagement Meeting We held a community information meeting via Zoom on the 26th of July 2021 to inform the public about our work and to hear about water quality concerns from people living in the area. The meeting involved two presentations by LAWPRO followed by a Q&A session with the attendees. The main issues raised at the meeting was the presence of a v-notch weir downstream of the Frenchpark WWTP that may be acting as a barrier to migrating fish, and the channelisation and alteration of habitat that has occurred throughout the PAA due to the area being part of the Boyle arterial drainage scheme.

Farmers Meeting The Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) normally hold an in-person, farmers only meeting in each PAA. A physical meeting will not take place due to COVID-19 restrictions, however, each farmer within the PAA will receive a letter outlining the free support and advisory service available to them. ASSAP propose to issue letters in September 2021. 6. Local Catchment Assessment

LCA work will be limited in the Carricknabraher_010 given the 2018 assessment by the EPA of this water body which confirmed it was continuing to achieve Good Status, but LCA will seek to confirm that Good Status is being maintained. For the Carricknabraher_020, Owennaforeesha_010, and Breedoge_010 waterbodies, catchment walks, as well as chemical and biological sampling will be undertaken as part of the LCA to identify and/or verify the source of the pressures impacting on water quality. As the Mantua_010, Granny_010 and Treanamarly Lough waterbodies are currently unassigned, LCA will also seek to determine the water quality of these waterbodies. If agricultural activity is confirmed as a significant pressure, LAWPRO will communicate the LCA findings to the ASSAP advisor for the area who will work closely with farmers to address the issues. In the case of other activities impacting on water quality, LAWPRO will work with the relevant organisations and authorities to address the issues. For the unassigned waterbodies, we will communicate our findings on the condition of these rivers to the EPA.

Photo taken from the Breedoge Bridge which marks the exit point of the Breedoge River from the Carricknabraher PAA.