Loughrea birdwatching and beach clean-up
Caitríona Cunningham from Clean Coasts tells us about a recent event where the community got involved in birdwatching and a […]
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Articles by category
Longford: primary school kids learn about water and wildlife
Local kids in Longford Town learn about water quality, water bugs, and what they can do to help protect their […]
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Catchments Newsletter, Issue 11 – Autumn 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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The WISDOM Project: Learning from Group Water Schemes and connecting water, infrastructure, and people
Group Water Schemes (GWSs) are community managed water suppliers, primarily in rural Ireland. WIDSOM: Learning from Group Water Schemes, an […]
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Public engagement & environmental policy
Simon O’Rafferty is an EPA-funded researcher who focuses on the design of environmental policy interventions for sustainable behaviour change. In […]
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The impacts of climate change on Irish groundwater resources
Groundwater resources in Ireland As the largest store of available fresh water, groundwater is a priceless resource that needs to […]
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Galway Waters and Communities news: Cuan Beo, Tuam, The Irish Workhouse Centre & Glenamaddy Tidy Towns
Originally published in the Winter 2018 Catchments Newsletter. Catherine Seale, Galway’s Community Water Officer, tells us how Cuan Beo, a […]
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‘Balsam Bashing’ continues along the banks of the River Suir Blueway
‘Balsam Bashing’ is the term used to describe the removal of the plant Himalayan Balsam, which is an invasive alien […]
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Dublin – World Water Day 2018 / Dublin Water Action Day 2018
Dublin celebrated World Water Day in March 2018, and then it had the amazing Dublin Waters Action Day in April, […]
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Crayfish Plague spreading in our river catchments
Crayfish Plague is now confirmed to be in the River Nore catchment at Kilkenny City. It has previously been found […]
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.