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

Chapter 16: Conclusions STEP UP TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND US AS IT IS UNDER INCREASING THREAT SOE 7: Water Quality Improve the Water Environment and Tackle Water Pollution Locally at a Water Catchment Level The water quality in Ireland’s rivers, lakes and estuaries needs to be better protected through evidence-based measures, integrated water catchment-based projects and initiatives and by reducing the amount of nutrients ending up in water courses. The EPA water quality in Ireland report, covering data from 2013 to 2018, shows that only around half of Ireland’s surface water bodies are in a satisfactory ecological condition (EPA, 2019a) (Chapter 7). Estuaries are in the worst condition overall, and our rivers have suffered the greatest number of declines in ecological health in the recent reported period (2013-2018). There has also been an increase in nutrient concentrations, an increase in the number of water bodies given a poor or bad status, and a continued loss of high status sites (EPA, 2019a, b). Long- term trends show a significant loss of our most pristine river waters, the number of which has declined tenfold since the late 1980s. Currently there are only 20 such sites left in the country. One-third of rivers and lakes and one-quarter of estuaries have excess nutrients in them. There is also evidence that nutrient concentrations in Ireland’s rivers and nutrient inputs to its marine environment are increasing (EPA, 2020f). Nitrogen pollution in the south and south-east of the country is damaging the ecological health of many estuaries and nearshore coastal waters. Agriculture is the most common source of excess nutrients in waters. Urban wastewater is another major source. These nutrients are promoting algae growth and damaging the ecological health of rivers, lakes and estuaries. Other significant water issues that need to be tackled are physical changes and modifications to water courses. Weirs, changes to bankside habitats, drainage and changes to flows can all have an impact on biodiversity including the migration of fish species. More consideration needs to be given to using natural water retention measures on land and nature- based solutions in flood risk management and planning. The impacts of climate change and extremes in water temperatures and water flows are likely to exacerbate the damage caused by underlying water pollution. There are initial signals indicating some improvements in river water quality in the 190 priority areas for action that were identified in the current National River Basin Management Plan 2018-2021 (Government of Ireland, 2018). These priority areas comprise 726 water bodies across all water categories. Further monitoring and assessment will be needed to confirm this trend and the specific reasons for the improvements. Overall however, river water quality has decreased in Ireland; a significant 5.5 per cent net decline since 2010-2015 has been recorded for the period 2013-2018, indicating that further actions are needed to reverse this trend (Chapter 7). Targeted actions at a water catchment level, based on science and integrated catchment management and the targeted protection and restoration of good-quality rivers (blue dot sites), are now the main strategies being employed to tackle water pollution. But this work is a slow and resource-intensive process. Any further intensification of the agricultural sector, in the absence of effective strategies to reduce the loss of nutrients to waters, could potentially wipe out any of the improvements seen. Ireland also needs to foster the careful management of soil and land management practices to avoid nutrient and sediment losses into water catchments (Chapter 5). What is clear is that there must be targeted, integrated and collaborative working between authorities, stakeholders and communities as part of the national water catchment-based approach if we are to make real progress in stopping the overall decline in water quality. 441