Funding - Local Authority Water Programme

Community Water Development Fund

The Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage funds LAWPRO to provide the Community Water Development Fund. This fund supports community groups to enhance the quality of local streams, rivers, lakes, and coastal areas. The fund has been in place since 2017, with growing interest year on year.

The standard of applications for funding is high, making the assessment process more difficult. The fund delivers a broad range of water projects that benefit the amenity of local areas. Types of projects approved for funding include:

Awareness raising initiatives such as river clean ups, biodiversity information boards, citizen science workshops, outdoor classrooms, rainwater harvesting, and enhancement of wetlands.
Preparation of local plans such as feasibility studies, habitat management plans, ecological surveys, and biodiversity action plans.
River and habitat enhancement works such as planting of native species and hedgerow, pollinator friendly planting, river-bank stabilisation, fencing and riparian buffer zones.

Download Grants Awarded by the Local Authority Waters Programme 2024

On World Water Day Minister Noonan welcomes €1.2m for water quality projects nationwide

Over €700,000 for 155 water quality projects nationwide
New €500,000 funding for catchment groups

Friday, 22nd of March 2024: Today, on World Water Day, the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), working on behalf of Ireland’s 31 local authorities to protect and restore good water quality, is awarding funding to 155 projects in 26 counties under the ‘Community Water Development Fund Open Call 2024’.

Under the fund local communities and groups were invited to apply for financial assistance to support the delivery of projects and initiatives to enhance local water bodies and benefit water quality and biodiversity.

Since 2018, LAWPRO has made over €2.7m available through this funding scheme to local communities and groups, assisting in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive through Ireland’s River Basin Management Plan.

In addition, a new funding stream the ‘Catchment Support Fund’ is being rolled out in 2024. This funding will build the capacity of Community Groups to grow and develop in support of the delivery of the River Basin Management Plan.

Minister of State with responsibility for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, welcomed these announcements saying:

“Today is World Water Day and I’m delighted to announce €1.2m nationwide to improve water quality. Under the Community Water Development Fund, grants totalling €702,605 will fund the grassroots work of local communities and voluntary groups to raise awareness of our rivers, lakes and streams and the biodiversity they support. A further €500,000 under the new LAWPRO Catchment Support Fund, to be rolled out by LAWPRO, will help NGOs working on water quality to develop and strengthen the skills, processes, and resources they need to grow. Each project that these funds support will play a part in achieving our collective goal of improving water quality under the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation”.

Commenting on the 2024 fund, Director of Services for LAWPRO, Anthony Coleman said:

“We are delighted to fund local community driven projects that will go towards improving water bodies. LAWPRO was set up to coordinate and support efforts to achieve good water quality and these types of projects are at the heart of what we do. Community engagement is fundamental in dealing with local issues and the fund empowers groups to take action to benefit their local water bodies and the surrounding environment.”

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LAWPRO Catchment Support Fund 2024

The Catchment Capacity Fund is a new funding stream that was rolled out by LAWPRO for 2024 on behalf of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The purpose of the fund is to build the capacity of catchment partnerships in support of the delivery of the third cycle River Basin Management Plan by providing grants for their core costs.

LAWPRO awarded €501,427 of grant aid to 37 organisations under the new ‘LAWPRO Catchment Support Fund’. This funding call will build the capacity of non-governmental organisations working in the area of water quality in Ireland by providing funding toward organisational running costs and core costs.

LAWPRO has always been supportive of Community Groups and a key element of LAWPRO’s Catchment Support Fund is to foster stronger local partnerships through the continued support and development of bodies who can provide additional vital water quality services to communities and support the objectives of the River Basin Management Plan.

Under the fund, organisations were invited to apply for financial assistance to support Strand 1 organisational costs such as statutory and/or legal fees, insurance costs associated with catchment management, accountancy fees, website annual support costs, organisation promotional materials and group development activities. In cases where an organisation has Company limited by guarantee status and a proven track record with LAWPRO, organisations were also invited to apply for Strand 2 capacity costs included funding towards staff costs, rent and rates.

Download grants awarded by LAWPRO under the Catchment Support Fund 2024