In October 1994 a local priest, Fr. Joe Gibbons of Ballycroy, County Mayo, after persistent complaints from his parishioners, decided to have eight separate samples of the local drinking water supply tested by the Department of Medical Microbiology at University College Hospital, Galway. The results of these private and independent tests were that the water contained the bacterium E coli in significant quantities and the water was determined unfit for human consumption.
E coli is an indicator bacterium used to determine the presence of faecal contamination of a water supply. The EU drinking water quality directive AD/778/EEC L229 of 30 August 1980 states that the maximum admissible concentration of total coliforms per 100 millilitres shall be zero. Total coliform counts in the samples taken by Fr. Gibbons ranged from 9 to 32 per 100 millilitres. All samples contravened the drinking water directive.
After further investigation it was revealed that the water supply which is drawn from Lough Annafrin in the Nephin Beg Mountains had been tested previously by the county council and health board in 1992 and 1993 and had been found to be similarly contaminated. This information had not been made public prior to the privately conducted tests of October 1994. Some 240 households are served by this water source which is managed by Ballycroy group water scheme and its trustees.
Since the area around the lake is uninhabited for several kilometres it was concluded after visual inspection that the only possible source of the excrement contamination was the high sheep densities on the mountain. In addition, visual inspection of the mountain showed the remains of one dead sheep in the headwaters of the supply to the group scheme as well as large amounts of sheep excrement in the vicinity of and above the headwaters of the scheme source.
In addition to the bacteriological contamination of the water supply, samples also contained large amounts of turf humus and varied in turbidity from light rust on good days to dark brown semi-translucency on bad days, after heavy rainfall. The water continues to have an odour and poor taste.
Since the discovery of the water contamination Board Fáilte has expressed its grave concern about the issue and its potential effects on tourism in the area. In addition, two large travel guide publishers have expressed a desire for more information regarding the problem with a view to publishing warnings to travellers in their next editions — Fodor's of New York and Lonely Planet of London. Ballycroy is a developing agri and eco-tourism destination and the contamination of the mains water supply represents a serious obstacle to the growth of such enterprises.
Simultaneous with the discoveries in Ballycroy reports have appeared in the academic world and the national media of problems of erosion in mountainous regions of County Galway and south County Mayo, apparently the result of the intensity of sheep grazing in these areas. Physical inspection showed that similar erosion had taken place in the Nephin Beg range and that the apparent cause of the turbidity of the water supply was the run-off of turf humus and silt from large areas of eroded hillside which has been denuded of vegetation by the large sheep population. It is probable that the loss of vegetation in the area has decreased the eco-system's ability to trap and recycle sheep droppings. Consequently, the sheep faeces wash directly into the headwaters of the Ballycroy group water scheme, resulting in the high E coli counts.
In February 1995 a formal complaint was lodged by a private resident of Ballycroy with DG XI of the European Commission regarding non-conformity with drinking water directive AD/778/EEC L229. The directive demands a zero E coli count in drinking water. This complaint was accepted by the Commission and is currently pending reply by the Irish Government.
Currently Ballycroy Development Limited, a community based, voluntary and non-profit making company, is making proposals to the Department of the Environment with regard to a properly conducted scientific study of the sources, mechanics and potential technological and environmentally sound solutions to this problem. No reply has been made to these proposals. I wish to ask the Minister what action the Government will take to curtail the source of the contamination, that is, the over-grazing of sheep on the mountain. Why has the Government not exercised its rights to apply the planning Acts and require an environmental impact assessment before allocating additional sheep headage grants under the ewe premium scheme in areas of extreme environmental sensitivity such as the Nephin Beg Mountains?
What measures is the Government taking to ensure that in future the rights of access to environmental information which are enshrined in the EU directive on freedom of access to environmental information and Statutory Instrument 133 of 1993 are guaranteed to those seeking such information from both county councils and health boards? Why has this not been the case in the past? What plans does the Government have to instigate proper scientific investigation into the erosion problem and its consequences for the landscape, economy and local public health? Why has Coillte Teoranta as land owner in the water catchment area not been obliged to fence and exclude sheep from the area and to cease the leasing of this land for sheep farming?