€83,818 to support Mayo groups involved in water quality management

THE Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), working on behalf of Ireland’s 31 local authorities to protect and restore good water quality in our river catchments, is awarding €32,700 to CALL Climate Action Louisburgh Locality and €51,118.16 to the Lough Carra Catchment Association in Mayo.

Overall, €856,260 in funding has been awarded to 40 community groups in 19 counties under the Catchment Support Fund Open Call 2025.

The Catchment Support Fund launched last year as a direct response to the Resilience Pilot Project Evaluation and an external review of LAWPRO’s other fund - the Community Water Development Fund. Both reviews indicated that funding was necessary to build capacity in local groups to support Ireland’s third River Basin Management Plan, the Water Action Plan 2024.

The funding will support a diverse range of projects nationwide including:

River and catchment conservation: initiatives to restore and protect local rivers and their ecosystems.

Community engagement: programmes that promote water stewardship and raise awareness about water quality issues.

Biodiversity enhancement: projects that support habitats and species dependent on clean water.

This funding is an important part of Ireland’s Water Action Plan, the roadmap to restore Ireland's waterbodies to 'good' status or better, and to protect against further deterioration between 2023 and 2027. It aims to do this through an “integrated catchment management approach”, which means understanding the area, water uses, potential threats and bringing together science and communities.

Director of services for LAWPRO, Anthony Coleman, said: “We are proud to be able to support community groups in their efforts to protect and improve local water quality. It’s essential that community groups have the opportunity to develop, so they can continue to deliver impactful projects and drive positive change in our water quality for future generations.”

It follows the announcement in February that LAWPRO awarded over €1 million in grants under the Community Water Development Fund to support community groups to undertake projects to protect and restore good water quality in our rivers, lakes, estuaries, ground and coastal water.

Further funding is available through LAWPRO’s Small Grants and Events Scheme, which allows community groups to apply for support to cover small scale initiatives and events related to water quality.

For full details of grants awarded and more information on the work of LAWPRO visit www.lawaters.ie.