Environment

WATER MATTERS is a booklet that Roscommon County Council has published in order to consult with you. The booklet is the first stage in getting your input to making plans for managing the waters in your area. We are talking about rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastal water and groundwater. In the booklet we say what we think the main issues affecting those waters are.

We think we have a good idea of what the problems facing them are. YOU may not agree. You may have better local knowledge and insights than us. So we would like you to consider the issues we list in this booklet and see if you agree with us. If you don't, we would really like to hear from you. Details of how to reply are contained in the booklet.

To make it possible to manage water in Ireland the whole island has been divided into eight districts. These districts are not based on traditional county boundaries, but are based on the natural flow of water in river catchments or basins. They are called River Basin Districts (or RBDs for short) and are shown in the picture to the right. This means that some counties are in more than one RBD, and in fact parts of County Roscommon fall into two different RBDs.

Because of this we have two versions of the WATER MATTERS booklet; a different version each for the Shannon International RBD and the Western RBD. The first of these is called an International RBD (IRBD for short) because it crosses the border with Northern Ireland.

To make sure you get the correct version of the booklet you should identify which River Basin District you live in from the map above. It shows County Roscommon with a black border and the RBD borders are shown in red. For example if you live in Cloonfad you are in the Western RBD. Similarly, Roscommon and Castlerea are shown in the Shannon IRBD. Some people may of course be interested in more than one RBD.

Once you know the booklet version you want you can download a copy by selecting one of the links below. An Irish language version of the booklet will be available in the future.

You can also collect a hard copy of the booklet at Environment Office, Roscommon County Council, Roscommon West Business Park, or may request a copy through the post by contacting:-

Enda Thompson
Shannon IRBD Office
Mulkear House,
Newtown Centre,
Annacotty,
County Limerick
Email: ethompson@shannonrbd.com
Phone: 061 337914

We know we need your input to produce a good water management plan and we know that no plan can succeed without your support. The next step is up to you.