The Munster Suir catchment area has the highest decline in quality water status.
Overall, there is no significant improvement in the biological quality of our rivers or lakes in 2022; improvements are happening in some areas but these are offset by declines elsewhere.
When excess nutrients – nitrogen and phosphorus – enter our water courses, they cause an overgrowth of plants and algae. This in turn clogs up our water courses, uses up oxygen and harms fish and other aquatic life.
Nitrogen levels, mainly from agriculture from fertilisers and manures, have increased in rivers and groundwater in 2022;
Phosphorus levels, mainly from agricultural runoff and wastewater discharges, are generally stable but are still too high in many rivers and lakes.
Action needs to be taken by the agriculture sector and Uisce Éireann to reduce the losses of both nutrients to the environment.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published the report Water Quality in 2022 – An Indicators Report which provides an update on the water quality of Ireland’s rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastal, and groundwaters for 2022. The report states that one of the most significant stressors on water quality and ecosystem health is high nutrient levels, such as nitrogen and phosphorus. These nutrients can enter our waters as a result of human activities such as agriculture, waste water and forestry. The EPA’s assessment shows no significant improvement nationally in the biological quality of rivers and lakes in 2022, which is largely attributable to excess nitrogen and phosphorous.
Overall, nitrogen levels in rivers and groundwater increased between 2021 and 2022. Nitrogen is too high in 40 percent of river sites and in 20 percent of estuarine and coastal water bodies. In addition, phosphorus levels are too high in 28 percent of rivers and 36 percent of lakes.
Commenting on the report, Dr Eimear Cotter, Director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment, said: “Clean water is essential for our health and wellbeing, our economy and for wildlife. The failure to improve water quality in 2022 and over the longer term is extremely disappointing. We will not meet our water quality objectives until nutrient levels are reduced in those areas where they are too high. Addressing this must be a priority for the agriculture sector and Uisce Éireann to reduce the losses of nutrients to water. While we can see improvements happening in some areas, these are offset by declines elsewhere, so overall there is no discernible change in the biological quality of our rivers or lakes in 2022. Improvements need to be far greater and more widespread to translate into an improving national picture”.
The ecology of our estuaries and coastal waters are particularly sensitive to nitrogen. The worst impacted estuaries for nitrogen exceedances are Glashaboy Estuary (Cork), Wexford Harbour, Castletown Estuary (Louth), Upper Barrow Estuary (Kilkenny) and Corock Estuary (Wexford).
Changes in nutrient levels and biological quality are key indicators of progress in achieving our water quality objectives. When these excess nutrients enter our water courses, they cause an overgrowth of plants and algae. This in turn clogs up our water courses, uses up oxygen and harms other more sensitive aquatic life.
Mary Gurrie, EPA Programme Manager, added: “We need to see full implementation of the Nitrates Action Programme through compliance promotion and targeted agricultural inspections. Uisce Éireann must prioritise investment in areas where wastewater is impacting on water quality, and the forthcoming River Basin Management Plan must provide a comprehensive plan to address all the pressures on our water environment to protect and improve this precious resource.”
Water Quality in 2022 – An Indicators Report is now available on the EPA website
Prosecution and conviction is culmination of two-decade investigation involving the EPA and An Garda Síochána
The former Director of Neiphin Trading Limited, operators of a waste facility in Kerdiffstown, Co Kildare, was today sentenced to three years in prison on each of three charges for serious environmental offences. The sentences will run concurrently with the final 12 months suspended. The offences, the subject of the convictions, included breaches of an (Environmental Protection Agency) EPA Waste Licence by the holding or recovering of waste at the waste facility in a manner likely to cause environmental pollution.
Commenting on the outcome of the trial, the Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement, Dr Tom Ryan, said:
“Waste crime can cause harm to the environment and public health and have significant consequences for the taxpayer. This conviction is a vindication of the resilient efforts of the State authorities working together for the public good over almost two decades. It sends a powerful warning to companies and their directors – those engaging in criminal activity which puts the environment and public health at risk will be held to account.”
The EPA wishes to thank all of the many people that have been involved in this case and associated investigation over almost two decades: Dean Kelly (Senior Counsel) and Fionnuala O Sullivan (Barrister at Law) acted for the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) instructed by Elizabeth Staunton, State Solicitor.
Ireland’s ammonia emissions increased by 1% in 2021 as the impact of higher livestock numbers and fertiliser use outpaced the impact of emission reduction measures currently being implemented at farm level.
Ireland is non-compliant with our EU Emissions Reduction commitment in 2021 for Ammonia. Compliance with the 2030 Reduction Commitment is only possible with full implementation of all identified measures, such as low emissions slurry spreading, and widespread use of inhibited urea fertiliser products.
The use of coal and fuel oil in power generation trebled in 2021, leading to increases in emissions of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), showing the direct link between fossil fuel use and air pollutant emissions.
Ireland was compliant in 2021 with EU emissions reduction commitments for the other key air pollutants; non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
Additional actions are needed to reduce emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds in the spirit production sector.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today published its 2021 assessment of five key air pollutants which impact air quality, health and the environment. The pollutants are:
ammonia,
non-methane volatile organic compounds
sulphur dioxide
nitrogen oxides
fine particulate matter
Ammonia emissions increased in 2021 by nearly 1%. Growth in livestock numbers, including a 3% increase in dairy cow numbers, led to an increase in total national ammonia emissions. Increased use of low emission slurry spreading to 48% was not sufficient to counteract the impact of the overall growth in livestock numbers. Ireland has not complied with EU National Emission Reduction Commitments for 9 of the past 10 years for ammonia emissions, which cause significant environmental damage to valuable ecosystems and can also impact local air quality and human health. Commenting on the report Dr Eimear Cotter, (Director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment) said: “The EPA’s assessment shows that the impact of good practices that are currently being implemented at the farm level, such as low emission slurry spreading and the use of protected urea, are not enough to counteract the impact of increased livestock numbers and fertiliser use. More and faster uptake of known measures is needed. While compliance with the EU 2030 targets for ammonia is possible, it will be tight and is at risk should anything less than full implementation of all measures be delivered, or if the level of activity in the sector exceeds projections“.
The use of coal and fuel oil in power generation trebled in 2021, which led to increases in emissions of NOx, PM2.5 and SO2, illustrating the direct link between fossil fuel use and air pollutant emissions . Emissions of NOx increased by 3% overall, driven by increased fossil fuel use in power generation. These increases masked a decrease in NOx emissions from transport of almost 4% in 2021 reflecting a continued improvement in vehicle NOx abatement technologies.
Commenting on the findings Mr Stephen Treacy, (Senior Manager) said: “The data shows the direct link between fossil fuel use and air pollutant emissions, highlighting the importance of accelerating Ireland’s transition towards renewables for the generation of heat and electricity, which will benefit both the climate and air quality”. Emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) increased by 2% in 2021, driven largely by increased activity in spirit production for beverages. While compliance with the NMVOC emission reduction commitment has been achieved, effective abatement measures for this source are needed if future emissions reduction targets are to be met. For further detail on these figures, see the EPA report Ireland’s Air Pollutant Emissions 1990-2030HERE. For further information contact: Ms Emily Williamson, EPA Media Relations Office TEL: 053-9170770 (24 hours) or media@epa.ie
The bee swarm came in a huge wave, dancing majestically from the north side of Thurles town, moving down the town centre, before settling at the feet of Jesus Christ, whose statue is positioned outside the Ursuline Primary school building, on Liberty Square.
Four thoughts quickly came to my mind. Firstly the Jesus Christ statue, shown in the picture below, stands on a plinth outside the school; its outstretched arms possibly referring to the writings contained in the gospel according to St. Matthew, Chapter 19: Verse 14, “Let the little children (bees in this case) come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
My second thought was for the schools late, incredibly caring, hard-working and dedicated teacher and principal Sister Xavier O’Dwyer. How said lady would have loved their arrival and the associated symbolism.
My two remaining thoughts came in the form of two hymns the words of which were learned in my youth; firstly an extract from “All things bright and beautiful” by the Dublin born hymn writer and poet Mrs Cecil Francis Alexander, (1818 – 1895), wife of the one-time Anglican Bishop of Derry, William Alexander, latter who later went on to become Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.
‘All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small. All things wise and wonderful, ’twas God that made them all. He gave us eyes to see them and lips that we might tell, How great is the Almighty, who has made all things well.’
That thought was quickly followed by lines from that blind American mission worker, poet, lyricist and composer Francis J. Crosby (1820 -1915), possibly better known as Fanny J. Crosby, the Queen of Gospel song writers. Following the death of her baby daughter, named Frances van Alstyness, Fanny had written; ‘Safe in the Arms of Jesus‘.
‘Safe in the Arms of Jesus, Safe on His gentle breast, There by His love o’ershaded, Sweetly my soul shall rest’.
And rest these bees did, until removed, to be sent to other more suitable living quarters; in the interest of the health and safety of pupils attending classes within the school.
Of course when bees are swarming, they remain the tamest they will ever be. These bees are weighted down with honey, so they are aware they cannot fly fast. They have two goals only in mind; to protect their Queen while locating a new place to live. Everything else remains secondary to those two goals, leaving them to surround and protect their queen, while they wait for scouts to inform them where to set up their new camp.
The quality of Ireland’s bathing water is very high overall with 97 per cent (144 of 148) of sites meeting or exceeding the minimum standard.
Of these, 117 bathing sites (79%) had excellent water quality which is an increase from 115 in the previous year.
This is attributed to on-going management of bathing sites by local authorities and investment in urban wastewater infrastructure in recent years.
However, localised issues remain and 3 beaches have poor bathing water quality, where swimmers are advised not to swim.
Swimmers and other water users’ health would be further protected by local authorities officially designating more bathing sites and providing better information for those who wish to swim year-round.
The EPA has today published the ‘Bathing Water Quality in Ireland‘ report for 2022, which shows that water quality at the majority of Ireland’s bathing waters meets or exceeds the appropriate standards. 79% of bathing sites have ‘Excellent’ water quality while 97% meet the minimum standard.
In particular, the EPA highlights two beaches that have improved from Poor to Excellent quality over recent years: Portrane, the Brook Beach in Co. Dublin, and Trá na bhForbacha, Na Forbacha in Co. Galway. This shows that with investment and a strong focus by the local authorities in finding and fixing the issues, water quality can and will improve.
Commenting on the report, Dr Eimear Cotter, (Director of the Office of Evidence and Assessment), said: “The on-going improvement in our bathing waters is very welcome and shows that good management of our bathing areas can give a high level of health protection for swimmers and other water users. Year-round swimming continues to be popular and the EPA looks forward to the outcome of the work, led by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which is investigating how to protect bathers’ health year-round. Unfortunately, there were no new bathing waters identified in 2022. The EPA urges local authorities to designate more official bathing sites to protect swimmers’ health, which includes designating the large number of beaches and popular swimming spots that they monitor but which haven’t been formally identified as bathing waters.”
The number of beaches with poor bathing water quality increased to three, compared with two in 2021. These will have a swimming restriction for the 2023 season. They are Balbriggan(Front Strand Beach), Co, Dublin; Lady’s Bay, Buncrana, Co. Donegal and Trá na mBan, An Spidéal, Co. Galway, with different issues including wastewater discharges, run-off from urban and agricultural lands as well as dog and other animal fouling, playing a part.
At some beaches, heavy rainfall can lead to wastewater overflows or run-off from urban and agricultural lands which can lead to a temporary deterioration in bathing water quality. Further information on bathing water and updates on monitoring results during the bathing water season (1st June to 15th September) is available HERE.
For further information: Contact Ms Emily Williamson, EPA Media Relations Office, Tel: 053-9170770(24 hours) or media@epa.ie
Recent Comments