Why the Upper Erne catchment?

We chose the Upper Erne catchment as a testing ground for a few reasons. Firstly, the Upper Erne catchment has pesticide exceedances in drinking supplies. The catchment also has a landscape that is a good representation of other water source catchments with pesticide exceedances. This is due to its agricultural intensity and the nature of its land (grassland dominated with poorly drained soils).

For the pilot project to work effectively a sub-catchment within the Upper Erne was selected with the support of key stakeholders.

The Belturbet Public Water Supply Scheme (PWS) abstracts from the Upper Erne River near the town of Belturbet Co. Cavan. The drinking water catchment area is about 1,500 km² and the land-use is predominantly pasture (83%). The Belturbet PWS provides drinking water for Belturbet town in County Cavan and serves over 1,700 people.