Nutrient pollution, sediment and pesticides from agricultural lands and farmyards running into water have been chiefly blamed for a decline in water quality, in a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The Water Quality in Ireland Report 2016-2021 published by the EPA states that water quality is “not as good as it should be”.
The report shows that just over half of rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters are in satisfactory condition.
It also warns that Ireland will fail to meet the European Union and national goal of restoring all waters to “good or better” status by 2027.
The EPA report outlined that nearly half of Ireland’s surface waters are in “an unsatisfactory condition due to the damage being caused by activities that release pollutants into our environment and physical alterations that damage habitats and ecosystems”.
According to the EPA the trends suggest that overall, water quality is declining and getting worse.
The agency said this is happening because pollutants have been released into Ireland’s rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters and the main causes of these are;
- Agricultural run offs.
- Activities such as land drainage, navigational dredging, dams and weirs.
- Discharges of poorly treated sewage from urban waste water treatment plants
- Run-offs from forestry operations.
The EPA said that when nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus run into waterways this leads to a spurt of growth in plants and algae, this then clogs up water ways, uses up oxygen and harms insects and fish.
Nitrogen in drinking water can be risk to human health
It has also warned that excess nitrogen in drinking water can pose a risk to human health.
The agency’s latest analysis was based on the assessment of over 4,000 surface water bodies and 514 groundwater bodies from 2016-2021, it found the worst affected areas were along the southeast and southern seaboards.
Its analysis also suggests that some rivers in the east of the country have failed to recover from the effects of historic mining. The agency also suggests that many rivers in the northwest experienced suspected chemical pollution with suspected causes including the use of pesticides in sheep dip and forestry.
Dr. Eimear Cotter, director of the EPA’s office of evidence and assessment, said:
“The scale of the declines in our estuaries and coastal waters is alarming. In recent years the EPA highlighted that nutrient levels in our rivers and groundwaters are too high and that trends were going in the wrong direction. “
She said that areas such as Cork Harbour, Wexford Harbour and the Slaney, Suir and Nore estuaries have lost their good water quality status.
The EPA is now calling for urgent and targeted action to restore water quality, including the full implementation of the Nitrates Action Programme and sustained investment in water services infrastructure.