Ireland‘s Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) has said that the latest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) water quality report indicates the level to which the country continues to ‘fall short’ in protecting rivers, lakes, and coastal waters from pollution.
As the EPA’s report noted, just 182 of the 334 river water bodies identified with high-status objectives achieved high aquatic invertebrate quality between 2023 and 2025, which reflects a 25% net decline relative to the 2010-2012 period.
This will have a detrimental effect on natural food systems for fish – including already-vulnerable Atlantic salmon populations – and wildlife that feed on fish such as kingfishers and otters.
‘Little meaningful progress’
As SWAN noted, the report indicates that ‘little meaningful progress’ has been made to improve Ireland’s water quality, which continues to be under pressure from agriculture, forestry and wastewater pollution.
“This report is another warning light flashing red,” commented SWAN freshwater policy officer, Puneeta Sreenivas. “Despite all the plans over the years, water quality in our rivers continue to decline. The Government’s current Water Action Plan doesn’t have the strong and effective measures to bring the changes needed.”
Water Action Plan
With the next Water Action Plan currently under development, SWAN is calling on the government to prioritise targeted measures for water bodies identified as degraded or at risk, with particular focus on specific catchment activities that are causing pollution.
“To be effective, these measures must fill the gaping holes in the current water pollution control system which, it’s clear from this report, is not working,” Sreenivas added. “As we wait for these much-needed additional measures, the very least we should expect is for effective enforcement of existing regulations, and clear accountability for failed measures.”
With Ireland assuming the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, SWAN added that the lack of attention paid to the country’s waterways “undermines our credibility at EU level”, which will require decisive action. It noted that Ireland has already been found in breach of the EU Water Framework Directive by the European Court of Justice.
SWAN is a network of 26 environmental organisations working on the protection and sustainable management of Ireland’s water environment, including An Taisce, Bat Conservation Ireland, BirdWatch Ireland, Carra/Mask/Corrib Water Protection Group, Cavan Leitrim Environmental Awareness Network, Celebrate Water, Coastal Concern Alliance (associate), Coastwatch, Dodder Action, ECO-UNESCO, Friends of the Earth, Friends of the Irish Environment, Friends of the Upper Annalee Lakes, Irish Peatland Conservation Council, Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, Irish Wildlife Trust, Longford Environmental Alliance, Macroom District Environmental Group, Nature Network of Ireland, River Shannon Protection Alliance, Salmon Watch Ireland, Save the Swilly, Slaney River Trust, StreamScapes, The Environmental Forum, and Voice of Irish Concern for the Environment. Read more here.
