A recent bloom of toxic blue/green algae on Lough Arrow in Co Sligo has heightened fears that the lake is under serious threat from pollution. People who get their drinking water from the lake were told in recent weeks that it could be poisonous, even after boiling.
For locals, many of whom have fished the lake for generations, this is a tragedy unfolding before their eyes. The algae blooms are occurring more frequently, and rather than any action being taken to save the lake, the likely causes of the pollution are increasing. Lough Arrow is renowned internationally for its trout fishing, and the North Western Regional Fisheries Board has just completed work costing u £325,000 to improve spawning beds on feeder streams to help boost fish stocks. The money came from the EU under an angling tourism scheme.
Locals see it as a bitter irony that at a time when huge efforts are being made to market the lake for tourism, the warning signs about water quality are being ignored.
The problem is eutrophication; water becomes over-rich in nutrients caused generally by farm slurry, artificial fertilisers, or sewage. Forestry, and the use of phosphates to help trees grow, are also a cause. To a lesser extent, the use of detergents also contributes to the problem.
It is a national issue, and anglers' organisations have visited Brussels to try to force the Government to take action about deteriorating water quality in rivers and lakes around the State. Two fishing lakes effectively wiped out in the 1970s and 1980s were Lough Sheelin, due to intensive pig farming and the spreading of slurry, and Lough Ennell, due to the discharge of inadequately treated sewage. The situation at Ennell, near Mullingar, has been turned around by higher standards of sewage treatment, but the problem at Sheelin, in Cavan, has never been fully resolved.
Last year the Government, under pressure from the EU, brought in new regulations on "nutrient management" and gave responsibility for the creation of by-laws and their enforcement to local authorities, which are often ill-equipped to tackle the problem. Sligo county engineer Mr Frank Gleeson said that in the case of Lough Arrow, a working group was set up over three years ago, but there had been "a lag" because of a lack of resources. Mr Gleeson believes that as more legislation was passed giving new responsibilities to local authorities, there was a need for specific funding for these measures.
However, funding from the council's general budget had now become available and specialist staff would be appointed in the new year. A 10-year plan had been drawn up. "Once staff are there, we will then examine the catchments to establish where the nutrients are coming from. This will involve farm surveys and probably detailed plans for farmers after that," Mr Gleeson said.
Lough Gill, closer to Sligo town, was also experiencing algae blooms and a management plan had been drawn up for that lake, Mr Gleeson said. As both lakes were sources of public water, they were routinely monitored and, overall, there was no concern about water quality.
Meanwhile, fishermen and locals who rely on Lough Arrow to make a living are demanding action. Fishing may not be as good as it used to be, but there is still plenty of time to turn the situation around, they argue.
Mr Barrie Cooke, an artist and lifelong fisherman who lives beside the lake, said he was alarmed when he saw the algae bloom in November. "I had never seen it so late in the year before. Normally it only happens in very warm weather. I couldn't believe what I was seeing." Mr Cooke, who first fished Lough Arrow in the 1950s, said he had seen major changes over the past four years. Fly life was reduced and there were algae blooms all year round. Mr Roche said surveys of lakes had found that nutrient enrichment was generally caused by run-off from the land, and there was little doubt that the spreading of slurry and fertiliser was a major factor. Yet farmers are being encouraged through EU grants to build slatted sheds, a system that allows large amounts of slurry to build up. It must then be spread on the land, but to spread it on wet land - and land is very rarely dry in the north-west - means it runs directly into the nearest river or lake.
In addition to spreading slurry, farmers around Lough Arrow also spread artificial fertiliser, sometimes twice a year. Mr Roche said that an EU-sponsored scheme to promote environmentally-friendly farming, REPS, was a help, "but whether it is going far enough or fast enough is a big question".
Mr David Gray, who runs a business fixing boats and bringing people out on Lough Arrow to fish, said the authorities should learn from other European countries where huge sums had to be spent cleaning up lakes once they were polluted. Mr Robert Maloney and his wife Stephanie have been running a guest-house on the edge of the lake for the past 18 months. They put their life savings into restoring the derelict house.
Mr Maloney is worried, not least because when an international competition was being held on the lake in September, the water turned into what locals described as "pea soup", which would hardly encourage visiting fishermen to return. "Our concern is that nobody seems to be doing anything about it," Mr Maloney said.