Source
More information can be found in the "Preliminary Report on Source Protection" by Dr. Alec Rolston:
- Killeen Group Water Scheme abstracts water from Lough Cumnel. Lough Cumnel, a lake with a surface area of approximately 8 ha has a catchment area of ~13.7 km^2 and the lake is located at an elevation of approximately 210 m. Water flows into the lake from three mountain streams that flow from higher elevation to the south of the lake. A single outflow stream is located at the eastern edge of the lake which flows eastwards into Glencullin Lough. Soils in the catchment are predominantly blanket peat or ‘mainly shallow, non-calcareous peaty mineral soils of undefined drainage’. These peaty soils give the water an acidic nature.
- The scheme are fortunate that there are limited contaminants present in the water source. This is likely owing to the elevation of the lake, the limited land use upstream of the lake, the small area of the catchment and the predominance of bedrock at the surface.
- Sheep farming occurs within blanket bog areas in the vicinity of the catchment area and access to water bodies is typically unrestricted. However stocking densities are relatively low and therefore risks of peat erosion through overgrazing; and faecal contamination of the GWS raw water supply is likely to be low. Killeen GWS has not undertaken a Cryptosporidium Risk Assessment report but given the small catchment area, the low stocking rates and lack of other agricultural pressures within the catchment; it is unlikely that risk of Cryptosporidium contamination will be high.
- There are no dwellings within the catchment area and therefore risks of contamination from on-site waste water treatment systems are not applicable in this situation.
More information can be found in the "Preliminary Report on Source Protection" by Dr. Alec Rolston: