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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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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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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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�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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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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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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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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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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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
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