An assessment by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) covers a six year period between 2010 and 2015.
Six river water bodies in Ireland have been classified as ‘bad’ in a national assessment of water quality in Ireland by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
While 91 per cent of groundwater bodies, 57 per cent of rivers, 46 per cent of lakes, 31 per cent of estuaries and 79 per cent of coastal waters were found to be of good quality under the Water Framework Directive, the EPA reported that there has been a failure to meet the planned national target of 13 per cent improvement in water status for the six-year period.
There has been a decline in the number of river bodies categorised as ‘bad’ since 2007-2009, when 19 river bodies fell into that category, but the following six rivers were still classified as ‘bad’ between 2010 and 2015.
- River Tolka – between Clonee and Clonsilla in Dublin
- River Avoca – Wicklow
- River Aughboy – Wexford
- River Bredagh – Donegal
- River Lawrencetown – Galway
- River Srah – Mayo
The decline in the number of seriously polluted rivers was welcomed by the EPA, but there was also concern expressed at the decline in the number of ‘pristine’ rivers in Ireland; only 21 sites achieved the highest quality rating from 2013-2015 compared to over 500 sites in the late 1980s.
Commenting on the assessment, Dr Matt Crowe, Director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment said:
“We are fortunate in Ireland to have so many beautiful beaches, rivers, lakes, estuaries and canals. Water is part of what we are as an island people and there are few of us who do not have a personal connection to water, be it our favourite beach, river or lake, the well that supplies our family with drinking water or our favourite spot for a bit of fishing or a quiet walk.
“Clean and well protected water is also a key national asset and supports many important economic activities such as agriculture, manufacturing and tourism. We must do a lot more and work much harder at protecting this vital national asset.”
“The good news is that we have almost eliminated the worst of the worst of polluted sites,” Crowe added.
“Only six river water bodies were categorised as’ bad’ in this assessment compared with 19 for the 2007-2009 period. The bad news is that the decline in our most pristine waters, the best of the best, has continued. We now need to put the necessary measures and resources in place to arrest any further deterioration of water status and to make necessary improvements.
“Decisions about what to do and who should do it and pay for it need to be based on scientific evidence and requires constructive engagement and collaboration across a wide range of stakeholders. By doing this, the right action can be taken in the right place by the right people and organisations.”
You can read the EPA assessment in full here.
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