Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

346 Chapter 13: Environment and Industry Figure 13.8  Number of sites within EPA-licensed sectors (April 2024) identified as placing significant pressures on groundwater or surface water under the Water Framework Directive ˜ Both ˜ Groundwater ˜ Surface water 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Food & drink Landfill Chemical Surface Coating Timber treatment Mineral & other materials Wood, paper, textiles & leather Intensive agriculture Metals In 2022, 41 industrial sites were identified as placing significant pressures on water quality, representing less than 5% of all EPA-licensed industry in Ireland (Figure 13.9). Of these, 14 were placing significant pressures on surface water quality, 24 on groundwater quality and three on both surface water and groundwater quality. The EPA has developed a series of site-specific enforcement plans for these sites, which are spread across 20 different counties. The requirements for each site vary depending on the source and cause of the pressure and can include replacing on-site drainage networks, enhancing waste water treatment capacity and removing historical contamination. EPA inspection at an intensive agriculture site