2020 EPA Water Conference – watch online now
On 17 and 18 June 2020 the EPA held its National Water Event as an online conference. This year’s theme […]
Read MoreOn 17 and 18 June 2020 the EPA held its National Water Event as an online conference. This year’s theme […]
Read MoreThe National Biodiversity Data Centre today launched our Rocky Shore Safari which is a new survey under our Explore Your […]
Read MoreThe EPA runs a national hydrometric monitoring programme which measures the flow in rivers, lake levels and groundwater levels at […]
Read MoreThe EPA has today published the Bathing Water in Ireland report for 2019 which sets out the quality of bathing […]
Read MoreThe latest update to catchments.ie has made chemistry data downloadable. These downloads are available for every subcatchment and water body […]
Read MoreThis week we’ve upgraded the catchments.ie maps, and have added many new features and layers. The maps have lots of […]
Read MoreDragonflies and damselflies are beautiful creatures. Their presence near freshwater can provide a useful indicator of water quality. Dave Wall, […]
Read MoreThe preservation and restoration of Europe’s largely degraded floodplains must be better prioritised according to the European Environment Agency report […]
Read MoreCatch crops are grown between successive cereal crops to help protect the soil and reduce the losses of nutrients and […]
Read MoreRaymond Flynn and Michael Anderson from Queen’s University Belfast’s explain how Ireland’s blanket bogs are affected by the hydrology of […]
Read MoreQuite 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.
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.
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.
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.