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.com

Dev

eloping Groundwater in

a

Chan

ging Reg

ulatory

Environmen

t

Prese

ntation IG

I Conference

, Dublin

Cas

tle

4thOctober 200

7.

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.com

The Past

�19

80’s -19

90’s M

ajor Groundwater Supply Sch

emes

Dev

eloped

at Fardys

townWex

ford, D

errygarranPortlaoise–

No surfac

e water alternatives

.

Exten

sive

Hyd

rogeo

logical In

vestigations es

tablis

hed

the sa

fe

yield and the quality of the ab

stracted

groundwater. On

occ

asions the im

pac

t on neighbouring wells was

ass

esse

d.

�At the sa

me time high dem

and Agri-Busines

s use

rs id

entified

groundwater as an

option to dev

elop high volume water

supplie

s rapidly (indep

enden

t of the loca

l authority planning

strategy)

Major sa

vings in un-m

etered

water was

an additional ben

efit.

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.com

THE PAST –RED TAPE FREE

�Straightforw

ard Site Acq

uisition.

�No EIS.

�Groundwater Quality was

believe

d to be naturally

exc

ellent

conse

quen

tly there was

no req

uirem

ent for so

urce protection plans.

�No nee

d for priva

te in

dustry to notify authorities

of well d

evelopmen

t unless

part of a larger planning applic

ation.

�Control y

our own des

tiny –No nee

d to wait for gove

rnmen

t funding to

be provided

to LA to upgrade ca

pac

ity of ex

isting water supplie

sto

allow for increa

ses in dem

and.

�The holis

tic ap

proac

h to the water environmen

t was

not co

nsidered

. The

protection of wetlands an

d surfac

e water was

not prioritise

d.

�No Charges

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The groundwater exp

loration programmes

in the 19

80’s and early 199

0’s crea

ted

an awaren

ess of the ad

vantages

of dev

eloping groundwater supplie

s an

d priva

te

indep

enden

t su

pplie

s in particu

lar.

Irelan

ds dep

enden

ce on groundwater has

grown considerab

ly.

Yea

rGroundwater abstraction (% of Total)

1994

19%

2004

>25

%

THE ADVENT OF THE CELTIC TIGER

No of new houses granted planning permission

increased by 89% from 1998 to 2005

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Water Infrastructure –Lagging Behind

�Mea

th

Increa

se in

Groundwater Abstraction

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.com

MEATH W

ATER SUPPLY

�Mea

th Co. C

o. c

urren

tly distributes 50

,000

m3/day

.

�Pac

e of dev

elopmen

t is outstripping sav

ings mad

e in water conse

rvation

mea

sures.

�Future dem

and +50

%

�Proliferation of indep

enden

t interim supplie

s

Increa

se in

Groundwater Abstraction

Water Infrastructure –Lagging Behind

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.com

�Sch

ering Plough -95

0M3 /day

€1

,900

/day

if metered

and charged

Water Costs –Non domestic user

Increa

se in

Groundwater Abstraction

www.wyg

.comAdvantages of Groundwater

�Conve

nient so

lution when

no M

ains Water Supply ava

ilable (Interim Supply).

�Superior Quality

�Sound eco

nomic solution -No W

ater Charges

-Mains water costs va

ry from ~

€0.90/m³to €2.3/m³

�Quick pay

bac

k of ca

pital in

vestmen

t

�Potential for Geo

thermal Use

�Sustainab

le Option

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Groundwater -Controls

(a) Protecting

Human Health

(b) Protecting the

Environment (ecosystem)

White

Young

Green

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.com

Sustainab

le Dev

elopmen

t ?

Environmentally Compatible Abstraction

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.com

EIS -Requirement for Impact Study

“Annual Abstraction exceeds 2 million cubic metres”

EPA Act 1992

IPC Industries with abstractions can be required to submit details of any

impacts

“Additional Information”with Planning Applications

Source Protection Plans

Zones of Influence

Water management plans

White

Young

Green

Water Supply –Planning

Requirements

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.com

Planning Permission Requirement

Local Government (Planning & development) regulations, 1994, S.I. No. 86 of 1994

Exempted developmentsinclude the following

Class 40 boreholes for domestic supplies, group water scheme in accordance with a

plan approved by the Minister/Local Authority for the purpose ofmaking a grant

towards

the cost of such works”

Class 41 “Any drilling or excavation for the purpose of surveying land or examining the

Depth & nature of the subsoil, other than drilling or excavation for the purposes of

mineral prospecting”

Part 10 required for GW Supplies Developed by Local Authority

Water Supply –Planning Requirements

White

Young

Green

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Water Framework Directive

Aims:

-prevent the deterioration water status

-restore polluted bodies of water

-reverse any upward trend in pollutants

-ensure a balance between abstraction & recharge of

water

Groundwater Dependent Eco-systems

If protected eco-system (cSAC, NHA) close by,

groundwater abstraction (or wastewater disposal)

may not be permitted

Major and very specific studies required to

demonstrated if impact will occur or not –an EIA may

not be required for development but may need to

adopt this approach due to sensitive receptor

EU Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC

White

Young

Green

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Source Protection Plans

Increasingly, local authorities are requesting that a Source Protection Plan

(SPP) is prepared and submitted at planning stage for developments with their

own on-site water supply

Consequence of SPP

•Restrictions on Neighbouring Land Usage -Land Acquisition Expensive

(CPO)

•ZOC land not in ownership of developer

•Limit development potential outside your own site

•Legislative restrictions………….Nitrates Directive!!!

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Source Protection Plans

Groundwater Vulnerability

Extreme (E)

High (H)

Moderate (M)

Low (L)

Source Protection Zones

Inner

Outer

Well

Septic Tank

House

Groundwater Flow Direction

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.com

S.I. No 378 of 2006

New Nitrate Directive

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.com

Restrictions!!!!

�S.I. No. 7

88 of 2005

–European Communities Good Agricu

ltural P

ractice for Protection of Waters

Reg

ulations 2005

�Res

tricts landsp

read

ing of wastes within a 200m rad

ius of an

y well serving m

ore than

500

perso

ns or ab

stracting ove

r 100m

³/d –

equivalen

t to 35 ac

re area!!

�Res

tricts landsp

read

ing of wastes within a 100m rad

ius of an

y well serving m

ore than

50

perso

ns or ab

stracting ove

r 10m³/d

�Took no account of hyd

rogeo

logical or geo

logical conditions around the well in question

�Res

ulted

in huge restrictions on peo

ple and agricu

ltural d

ue to the presence of a well

�Ren

ders large area

s of co

unties

unsu

itab

le for water supply dev

elopmen

t from LA

persp

ective

�This S.I. was revoke

d and superce

ded

by S.I. No. 378

of 20

06

�Allo

ws for alternative se

tbac

k zo

nes

to be reco

mmen

ded

based

on site co

nditions

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Scientific Risk Assessment

Pathway

Target

(Source)

Hazard

Topsoil

Subsoil

Bedrock

Water

Table

Reference

Point

Reference

Point

SubsoilProperties

=Vulnerability

Source-Pathway-TargetandVulnerability

Pointof

Release

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.com

Rev

oke

SI

Consu

lt with the Scien

tists

A superior methodology is alrea

dy in

place

A Better Alternative ! Sustainab

le Dev

elopmen

t ?

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.com

Licen

sing and charges??

�Licen

sing –Planning Permission to Track

Users -Ess

ential to Ach

ieve W

ater Framew

ork

Objectives

�To im

prove

conse

rvation of reso

urces, the Cham

bers of Irelan

d “

stro

ngly

urg

es th

e de

part

men

t (D

oEH

LG)

to m

ake

prov

isio

n fo

r w

ater

met

ers

to b

ecom

e an

inte

gral

par

t of t

he p

lann

ing

perm

issi

on in

al

l fut

ure

dom

estic

hou

ses”

Cha

mbe

rs o

f Ire

land

Mar

ch 2

005,

Wat

er S

ervi

ce c

harg

es fo

r B

usin

ess

2005

.

�In 200

4-5 metered

water consu

mption in

the UK was

c. 10%

less

than

unmetered

dem

and (OFWAT 200

5).

�Lim

iting of ab

straction –Conserve Communal Resource

�Charges? –Reven

ue to Local G

ove

rnmen

t (w

ill be resisted

strongly)

Who owns the groundwater?

�EU direc

tive

s –Green

Machine will continue to produce

legislation

Must be bas

ed on consu

ltation with knowledgea

ble bodies.

The Future