Assessment shows only 53% of our surface water bodies have satisfactory water quality
09 December 2019: The EPA has today published the Water Quality in Ireland Report for the period 2013-2018.
The key findings are:
- 92% of groundwater bodies, 80% of coastal waters, 53% of rivers, 50% of lakes and 38% of estuaries were found to be of satisfactory quality.
- Since the last full assessment, river water quality has got worse, with a net decline of 5.5% (128 water bodies) in the status of river water bodies.
- We are continuing to see a loss of the pristine (‘best of the best’) river water bodies. There are now just 20 pristine river sites down from over 500 sites in the late 1980s.
- The number of seriously polluted river water bodies (the ‘worst of the worst’) has started to rise – from 6 to 9 – after many years of an improving trend.
- The number of fish kills increased to 40 in 2018 after a historic low of 14 in 2017. It is likely that the hot summer and low flow conditions in 2018 had an impact on this.
Commenting on the assessment, EPA Director Matt Crowe said:‘Ireland
has made commitments to protect and improve water quality, under the
Water Framework Directive and the National River Basin Management Plan
2018-2021. The aim of European and National Water Policy is to get
polluted waters clean again, and ensure clean waters are kept clean.’
‘However,
the findings of this report indicate that water quality is getting
worse after a period of relative stability and improvement. We now have
an increase in the number of the most polluted river sites, and the
number of rivers in poor ecological health is also increasing. Positive
trends reported previously by the EPA have reversed. Not only are we
failing to improve overall water quality, we are also failing to prevent
further deterioration of our rivers.’The
main significant pressures impacting water quality in Ireland include
agriculture, wastewater discharges, impacts to the physical habitat
conditions including excess sediment (hydromorphology), and pressures
from forestry activities. Of particular concern in the most recent
assessment is the increase in nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus)
finding their way into our water bodies. Agriculture and waste water
are the main sources of nutrients. Over a quarter of river sites
monitored have increasing nutrient levels and nutrient loads to the
marine environment have also increased.Concluding, Mary Gurrie, Water Programme Manager said:‘The
overall increase in nutrient concentrations is a worrying development
for our water quality. These excess nutrients come from human
activities, predominantly our farms and waste water. We need to address
the sources and the pathways by which these nutrients make their way
into our rivers and lakes. Good water quality is essential for out
health and well-being. The National River Basin Management Plan sets
out a programme of measures to protect and improve water quality. It is
essential that the measures required are implemented in order to avoid
further deterioration and achieve the good water quality which people
expect.’The
report Water Quality in Ireland 2013-2018 (insert direct link to
report) is available on the EPA website and the accompanying data used
in the water quality assessments are available on www.catchments.ie. An
infographic is also available.
