Film on Mayo’s pristine waterbodies released on World Rivers Day

THE Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), in collaboration with Mayo County Council, has launched a new film on Mayo’s Blue Dots to celebrate World Rivers Day.

Blue Dots are high status objective waterbodies and County Mayo has some of the best examples of these, and the fourth most Blue Dots in the country, with total of 48.

LAWPRO is a national shared service working on behalf of the 31 local authorities in Ireland coordinating efforts to achieve good water quality across the country.

Speaking about the film, Luke Drea, senior community water officer with LAWPRO, said: “We are delighted to release this film showcasing the very best of waters we host in our country and the people who give their time to safeguard them. In an era of climate change, biodiversity loss and pressures on our waterways from pollution and nutrification, we need people to protect and help restore our integral resources - clean healthy rivers, rich in biodiversity.”

Councillor John O’Hara, cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, said: “I welcome the launch of this film which highlights the benefits of communities, state bodies and other stakeholders working together to protect, promote and enjoy the rich biodiversity and high quality resource that comes from having clean natural waters.”

LAWPRO collaborates with local communities through the Blue Dots Catchments Programme to protect and improve our high status objective waters so that the benefits to biodiversity, our health and wellbeing, our heritage and the climate can be enjoyed by current and future generations.

Blue Dot Waterbodies represent some of our cleanest and most sensitive rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters.

The film showcases the communities living and working within the catchments of these Blue Dot waterbodies and the collaborative effort they put in to help protect and restore them.

Watch the film here: https://youtu.be/uowClH6IlCU?si=njH1-Ba-Mmya9G0M.

Find out more about Blue Dots here: https://lawaters.ie/blue-dot-programme/.

In May 2024, as part of Biodiversity week, LAWPRO launched a booklet and short video on the Mayo Blue Dots along with an artic char mosaic on the banks of Lough Mask.