In celebration of World Rivers Day
The Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) in collaboration with Mayo County Council have launched a new film on Mayo’s Blue Dots today on World Rivers Day.
Blue Dots are high status objective waterbodies and County Mayo has some of the best examples of these, and the fourth most Blue Dots in the country with total of 48. LAWPRO is a national shared service working on behalf of the 31 local authorities in Ireland coordinating efforts to achieve good water quality across the country.
Speaking about the film, Luke Drea, Senior Community Water Officer with LAWPRO said: “We are delighted to release this film showcasing the very best of waters we host in our country and the people who give their time to safeguard them. In an era of climate change, biodiversity loss and pressures on our waterways from pollution and nutrification; we need people to protect and help restore our integral resources- clean healthy rivers, rich in biodiversity.”
Welcoming the launch of the film, John O’Hara, Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council said: “I welcome the launch of this film which highlights the benefits of communities, state bodies and other stakeholders working together to protect, promote and enjoy the rich biodiversity and high quality resource that comes from having clean natural waters”.
LAWPRO collaborates with local communities through the Blue Dots Catchments Programme to protect and improve our high status objective waters so that the benefits to biodiversity, our health and wellbeing, our heritage and the climate can be enjoyed by current and future generations.
Blue Dot Waterbodies represent some of our cleanest and most sensitive rivers, lakes, estuaries, and coastal waters. The film showcases the communities living and working within the catchments of these Blue Dot waterbodies and the collaborative effort they put in to help protect and restore them.
Thank you to Mayo County Council for supporting the project and to all the people who took part in the video, it is a record of strong community efforts in supporting nature conservation.”
Watch the film here: https://youtu.be/uowClH6IlCU?si=njH1-Ba-Mmya9G0M . Find out more about Blue Dots on our website here: Blue Dot Programme – Local Authority Water Programme (lawaters.ie)
In May 2024, as part of Biodiversity week, LAWPRO launched a booklet and short video on the “Mayo Blue Dots” along with an artic char mosaic on the banks of Lough Mask.
ENDS
For media information:
Sadhbh O’Neill
Communications & Engagement Lead
Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO)
T: 085 850 0409
Notes to the editor:
About Blue Dots
In recent decades, Ireland has seen a concerning decline in its high-quality waters, impacting sensitive aquatic species like salmon, trout, and freshwater pearl mussels. Ireland’s River Basin Management Plan prioritises safeguarding these waters, setting a high status water quality target for a network of sites around the country known as the Blue Dots. The percentage of high-quality sites dropped from 31.6% in 1987-1990 to 18.4% in 2019-2021, with Q5 sites, reflecting near natural conditions, plummeting to just 1.1%. Initiatives like the Blue Dot Catchments Programme (Blue Dot Programme – Local Authority Water Programme (lawaters.ie)) and Waters of Life Integrated Project (Waters of LIFE – Waters of Life) aim to reverse these trends.
Mayo is home to numerous Blue Dot Waters and particularly stands out for hosting the largest number of Q5 sites nationally, with the Aille, Bundorragha, Glenree, Glenummera, Owenmore (Mayo) and Yellow (Foxford) rivers all hosting 1 or more Q5 sites in 2021 totalling 28% of the national count. Protecting and restoring the Blue Dots relies heavily on community action. Collaborative efforts, including the involvement of local groups facilitated by programs like the Blue Dot Catchments Programme and the Local Authority Waters Programme, are crucial. This publication on Mayo’s Blue Dots aims to raise awareness and foster community involvement in safeguarding these vital water resources.
About Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) https://lawaters.ie/
Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) works on behalf of Ireland’s 31 local authorities to protect and restore good water quality in our rivers, lakes, estuaries, ground and coastal water through catchment science and local community engagement. LAWPRO was established to fulfil requirements under the European Union Water Framework Directive and is funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. LAWPRO coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan.