Lough Carra marl lake – protecting one of Ireland’s most unique and threatened habitats
Lough Carra in County Mayo is a unique lake in the west of Ireland and indeed in Europe, due to […]
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Articles by category
The National Federation of Group Water Schemes (NFGWS) – working to make their pumphouses pollinator-friendly
The National Federation of Group Water Schemes (NFGWS) is the representative organisation for community-owned rural water services in Ireland. They’ve […]
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Anglers in border region scale up lake monitoring
The Local Authority Waters Programme is helping anglers in the border region monitor their lakes using innovative citizen science techniques. […]
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Explore your shore: volunteer to explore Irish coastal biodiversity
Dave Wall from the National Biodiversity Data Centre tells us how you can help map our marine biodiversity with the […]
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Citizen Science: how you can help monitor and understand your local environment
The EPA is working on citizen science in partnership with the National Biodiversity Data Centre, An Taisce and others. Citizens […]
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IRD Duhallow, Cork: farmers day on the river – goujon or a gudgeon?
Farmers participating in the RaptorLIFE project attended a river education event held by IRD Duhallow, where they got to try […]
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2019: our year in review
As we start a new year (and a new decade!) its worth looking back at the year just gone by. […]
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Public Consultation: Significant Water Management Issues for Ireland’s 2022-2027 River Basin Management Plan
The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (DHPLG) has published a document outlining the Significant Water Management Issues for […]
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Catchments Newsletter, Issue 12 – Winter 2019.
The latest issue of the Catchments Newsletter is now available to download. You can read the editorial from this issue […]
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Ireland’s Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme
Ireland’s Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme is central to the medium and long-term strategy for the reduction […]
Read MoreWho is involved?
Quite simply, everyone in Ireland has a role to play. This can be from something as simple as making sure you don’t pollute your local stream, or a local community working together to establish a Rivers Trust to enhance the rivers and lakes in their area, to a Government Department or Agency helping a Minister implement a new policy to help protect and enhance all our water bodies.
This website has been developed and is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Local Authority Waters Programme.
Local Authority Waters Programme
The Local Authority Waters Programme coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan, and supports local community and stakeholder involvement in managing our natural waters, for everyone’s benefit.
Environmental Protection Agency
The EPA is responsible for coordinating the monitoring, assessment and reporting on the status of our 4,842 water bodies, looking at trends and changes, determining which waterbodies are at risk and what could be causing this, and drafting environmental objectives for each.
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
The Department is responsible for making sure that the right policies, regulations and resources are in place to implement the Water Framework Directive, and developing a River Basin Management Plan and Programme of Measures to protect and restore our waters.