CHAPTER XII 



WATER CATCHMENT AREAS IN IRELAND 



In Ireland, as in the sister countries, the water supplies 

 of cities and towns are varied in origin. Some com- 

 munities obtain their water directly from the large rivers 

 on which they are situated, as Cork from the river Lee, 

 and Limerick from the Shannon. Many smaller towns 

 are still dependent upon local pumps and wells, or upon 

 springs. In this chapter notice is taken only of the 

 local authorities who have gathering grounds, as such areas 

 might in most cases be afforested with advantage to the 

 purity of the water supply and to the health of the popu- 

 lation. No official description of the water supplies of 

 Irish towns has been published ; and the pamphlet on 

 this subject by Sir Charles A. Cameron, published in 

 1885 (Fannin & Co., Dublin), is out of date. In the 

 following pages information, mostly furnished by town 

 surveyors, is given concerning the gathering grounds of 5 7 

 cities and towns ; but the acreage of ten catchment areas 

 could not be ascertained. In the cases of ten towns, 

 those marked with an asterisk, no official details have been 

 obtainable, though application was made. The information 

 cannot, then, claim to be exhaustive ; nevertheless it is of 

 considerable interest. Summarised, it shows that 47 cities 

 and towns obtain their water supplies from 93,835 acres of 

 gathering grounds ; and if the returns were complete, the 

 total would considerably exceed 100,000 acres. Muni- 

 cipal ownership of such lands is very limited in Ireland, 

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