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The Department of Agriculture has sent letters to more than 1,000 farmers reminding them to sign up to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) water register.
Dairy farmers with over 200 cows, sheep farmers with over 5,000 sheep, poultry producers with over 20,000 birds and piggeries with over 500 animals drawing over 25,000l of water a day are required to sign the register.
“The EPA has asked DAFM to issue a reminder letter regarding the requirement for farmers to register for water abstraction of 25m3 (25,000 litres) or more per day,” the Department said.
Some 765 letters have been issued to dairy farmers and 328 letters to pig farmers.
Abstractions include all water taken from rivers, lakes, streams, estuaries, groundwater, wells, boreholes, sumps and springs for any purpose
The Department is still awaiting figures on the number of sheep and poultry producers who need to be contacted.
One of the Department letters sent to one dairy farmer seen by the Irish Farmers Journal states: “Abstractions include all water taken from rivers, lakes, streams, estuaries, groundwater, wells, boreholes, sumps and springs for any purpose.”
The EPA can apply a €5,000 fine to farmers not signing the register but stated that it has not pursued any prosecutions yet.
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