Safe drinking water is vital for human health. Diffuse pollution of nitrogen and pesticides from agriculture is the main obstacle to meet drinking water quality targets.
The objective of FAIRWAY is
- to review approaches for protection of drinking water resources against pollution by pesticides and nitrate, and
- to identify and further develop innovative measures and governance approaches for a more effective drinking water protection.
January 2020: The Knowns and Unknowns of the Herbicide MCPA
A recent review by the Source to Tap project (the Northern Irish FAIRWAY case study) of MCPA (a herbicide selectively control a variety of weeds in arable fields and on grassland) including its history and trends, soil–water and hydrological dynamics, eco- and human toxicology, legislation, and pollution mitigation, places the Irish’s experience with this herbicide in an international context by identifying key areas where further research is urgently required.
For the full article see »A review of the pesticide MCPA in the land‐water environment and emerging research needs
December 2019: new infographic released
Denmark has achieved great success in water protection in the past decades. Land size and farm structure of Denmark and Lower Saxony are quite comparable so we applied Danish fertilization legislation to farms in Lower Saxony using a Danish decision support tool. Do farms in Lower Saxony meet Danish requirements?
To access this and other FAIRWAY infographics visit »FAIRWAY Information System.
November 2019: Two new videos released
FAIRWAY is working in 13 case study sites in 11 different European countries. In each case study local farmers are involved in the project sharing with the research team information about the measures they take to reduce the risk polluting (ground)water that is used for drinking. All the farms differ and the farmers work on improvements in their own way.
A diary farmer in Dravsko Polje (Slovenia) tells how she has replaced the old cattle shed with a new one using a deep bedding system. The bedding material mixed with slurry is applied to the fields, providing much needed additional organic matter and a reduced risk of leaching.
An asparagus farmer in Brabant (Netherlands) tells his personal story about how he tries to reduce pollution risk while keeping his farm economically sustainable.
