EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 Water Quality across Europe Ireland’s rivers, lakes and estuaries that have good and high status need to be protected as nationally important ecosystems for wildlife and people The most recent European assessment of water quality is based on data collected between 2010 and 2015 (EEA, 2018). 1 Overall, Ireland’s current surface water quality compares favourably with its European neighbours (Table 7.2): 52.8 per cent of Ireland’s waters have good or better ecological status compared with only 44 per cent of surface waters across Europe. However, there is no room for complacency, as Ireland, with its relatively low population density and lack of heavy industry, would be expected to have better water quality than many other parts of Europe. Furthermore, recent declines in river water quality means that fewer of our surface waters will meet their environmental objectives as set out by the EU Water Framework Directive. The challenge in Ireland is to protect waters that are still in good, or near pristine, condition and restore waters that have been allowed to deteriorate through pollution or physical modifications. Table 7.2  Percentage of water bodies at good or high ecological status and good chemical and quantitative status in Ireland and across Europe, 2010-2015 (Source: EPA) TYPE OF WATER BODY IRELAND (2013-2018) EUROPE (2010-2015) Surface waters Rivers 53 42 Lakes 50.5 54 Estuaries 38 31 Coastal waters 80 54 All surface waters 52.8 44 Groundwater Chemical status 92 80 Quantitative status 99 86 1 See also: https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/explore- interactive-maps/water-framework-directive-2nd-rbmp Similarly, the percentages of Ireland’s groundwater with good chemical status and quantitative status are higher than the corresponding European averages. Ireland does not have groundwater over-abstraction issues, as do many of the drier European countries, nor does it have widespread pollution from industrial activities or regular exceedances of nitrate or pesticide concentrations in groundwater, and therefore it compares favourably with its European neighbours. With regard to water quality and management, the European Commission’s Environmental Implementation Review for Ireland in 2019 (EC, 2019) noted with concern the low rate of compliance with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC). The review pointed out that almost half of the agglomerations that are required to have more stringent treatment systems in place are not in compliance with the Directive. Other issues highlighted by the review included the lack of controls on water abstractions and of regulation of activities that may result in physical modifications to water bodies (see Chapter 14 for more on urban wastewater and Chapter 15 for the Environmental Implementation Review). 170