Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

205 Chapter 8: Water This vision informed Ireland’s Forestry Strategy 2022–2030, 10 with the associated Forestry Programme 2023–2027. The Forestry Programme includes a number of measures relating to the protection of water during all forestry activities, including the Forests for Water scheme; grant aid for conversion to continuous cover forestry or native woodlands; a forestry environmental enhancement scheme to establish setbacks in legacy forests; and grant aid for various works to reduce forestry activity or mitigate its effects. The main risk to water quality occurs when forestry activities are occurring, so the implementation of mitigation measures and their effective oversight is essential. Forestry measures and impacts are further discussed in chapters 5 and 10. 10 www.gov.ie/en/publication/forestry-policy-and-strategy/#irelands- forest-strategy-2023-2030 (accessed 24 June 2024). Urban waste water measures Urban waste water discharges, from treatment plants and overflows, are the fourth most significant pressure impacting our waters; almost 200 water bodies are affected by discharges, either alone or in combination with other pressures. The EPA has identified priority areas where Uisce Éireann should direct resources to protect the environment from the harmful effects of waste water discharges. There were 80 priority areas at the end of 2023, down from 148 in 2017. However, Uisce Éireann has still not clearly identified the interventions needed at one-third of the priority areas where waste water is adversely impacting inland and coastal waters (EPA, 2023b). At the end of 2023, 19 towns and villages were still discharging raw sewage every day. Uisce Éireann is implementing plans to provide treatment for nine of these areas by the end of 2025, and the remaining areas are expected to receive treatment between 2027 and 2030 (Figure 8.10). Figure 8.10  Towns and villages still discharging raw sewage in a) 2019 and b) 2023 © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CartoDB Areas discharging raw sewage in 2019 (35 in total) Areas discharging raw sewage at the end of 2023, coloured by the year Uisce Éireann expects to have them connected to treatment (19 in total) 2024 (2) 2025 (4) 2027 to 2030 (10) Connected Q1 2024 (3) Year location to be connected (and total connections that year) Areas discharging raw sewage in 2019 (35 in total) Areas discharging raw sewage at the end of 2023, coloured by the year Uisce Éireann expects to have them connected to treatment (19 in total) b) a)