Water schemes win big at excellence awards

Two County Roscommon Group Water Schemes, Corracreigh and Mid Roscommon, were among the winners in the 2023 Group Water Scheme Excellence Awards.

Organised by the National Federation of Group Water Schemes (NFGWS), the annual awards recognise the hard work and initiative being shown by group water schemes (GWSs) across the country. Entries had been invited across four categories and presided over by an independent, expert judging panel. Group water schemes that achieved a required standard within their respective category were awarded an excellence flag and commemorative plaque, with an overall winner in each category receiving a special trophy.

Corracreigh GWS was revealed as the overall category winner for ‘Biodiversity Enhancement’ by Minister for State in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), Kieran O’Donnell TD in a special live announcement at this year’s Rural Water Services Conference. The conference was hosted in the Hodson Bay Hotel, County Roscommon.

Corracreigh GWS was also awarded an excellence flag award for ‘Community Engagement’.

In recent times, the Roscommon group water scheme has been involved in numerous projects to enhance biodiversity including the ‘Let it Bee’ campaign and the ‘I planted a tree and my garden is pesticide free’ campaign which also had the benefit of increasing awareness in the wider community. This included providing local farming families with beehives, and group water scheme members with wild bee hotels and trees, all aimed at raising awareness about the dangers of pesticides to drinking water and biodiversity.

Meanwhile, Mid-Roscommon GWS was among the excellence flag winners for ‘Water Safety Planning and Quality Assurance’. An overall category winner in three separate categories in recent years, the GWS has also been heavily involved in similar source protection initiatives. The GWS been placing huge focus on quality assurance from source catchment to tap, with its recent work helping to increase awareness in the community.

Reacting to the news, Corracreigh GWS manager, Thomas Rushe said the awards were "a fitting recognition for the support and hard work of everyone involved in rolling out initiatives, such as ‘Let it Bee’, habitat planting and extensive fencing on farms, all aimed at protecting our drinking water source.

“We are very thankful for all the assistance given by Roscommon County council water section and NFGWS staff — in particular Sean Corrigan, whose enthusiasm for the overall project encouraged us all along the way. A special thanks to Roscommon Galway Mental Health services business manager, Eamonn Hannan, workshop manager, Andy McDonnell, trainees and their instructors, John Bohan and Con Ward, for constructing our bee hotels, which proved such a success in raising awareness among the community,  and are been replicated on other group water schemes. I think that this proves that when a community joins together for the common good, everyone benefits.” 

Noel Carroll, Mid Roscommon GWS manager, said the award was "an acknowledgement of the daily work done on the scheme to ensure clean good quality drinking water is provided to all our members.  It also raises awareness within our community to become more water-aware and that by making small changes in our daily actions, it can have a huge benefit to the water quality on the scheme.”