Our trip to Co. Monaghan took us back to the Stranooden GWS offices where we learned a detailed history of the scheme, the pressures it has faced, and the infrastructural and environmental challenges that may lie in its future. As we learn histories of different GWSs through our research, we have heard several times about the caring approach that GWSs take when navigating their role in the community. In Stranooden, we learned of different ways that the GWS adapts to the challenges its members face, be they personal or financial, by easing the burden water bills may place on individuals and families. In learning these histories, what also becomes clearer is the reasons why GWS become involved in source protection pilots. GWSs are responsible for meeting not only EU and Irish regulations but also the usage demands of their local community now and into the future. In pursuing source water protection, GWSs navigate histories of infrastructural investment and land-use, present regulatory and consumer demands, and future regulatory changes, land-use, and levels of development.
