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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, which saw over 1,000 volunteers cleaning up at 35 locations across Dublin.

World Water Day – 22 March

World Water Day is celebrated every year on 22 March. This year Dublin City Council and the Waters & Communities Office teamed up with local students and water stakeholders to celebrate the importance of the natural water environment of Dublin

The focus was on nature-based solutions that can help solve many of the water challenges we face today, such as; flooding, drought, pollution and biodiversity loss. An interactive display celebrating World Water Day and the water environment of Dublin was held in the Atrium of Dublin City Council offices at Wood Quay, from 21 March to 6 April. The display included information about water and simple tips on how householders can make changes to reduce chemical use in car washing, cleaning, use of garden fertilisers and herbicides.

The exhibition also explored ways of protecting and improving water quality using green infrastructure such as rain gardens, permeable paving and water conservation methods. To encourage conservation, a competition was sponsored by the Environment and Transportation Department of Dublin City Council that offered two rainwater harvesting butts as prizes. An outdoor classroom was held along the Santry River in Raheny with fourth class pupils from Scoil Áine and members of Raheny Tidy Towns. The children learnt about the benefits we get from the water environment and ways in which they can help protect water and wildlife through everyday actions. The Santry River is one of the prioritised Areas for Action in Dublin under the River Basin Management Plan 2018-2021 and it was only fitting that it should be celebrated on World Water Day. Learn More: worldwaterday.org/

Dublin Waters Action Day – 21 April

On Saturday 21 April, over 1,000 volunteers gathered at 35 locations as part of the National Spring Clean to improve their local coastal areas, rivers and canals. Roughly 10 tonnes of waste were removed from the River Dodder, Tolka, Ward, Camac, Grand & Royal Canals, Wicklow and Dublin Coastlines. The event involved Dodder Action, who have led a community clean-up event every April called “Dodder Day” in which several groups target fly-tipping and littering along the whole river channel and its tributaries. This year groups along rivers and canals in all of county Dublin came together for one day, making a concerted effort to clean their local water environment. Clean Coasts organised clean-ups in areas including Sutton, Shellybanks and Bull Island. Dublin Clean Up, supported by Dublin City Council, helped groups across the city work together to make their communities clean and attractive. Dublin Canal’s Action Day had several clean up locations along The Grand and Royal Canal.

Photo: (L-R) Sinead Hurson, Waters and Community Office, Niamh Ni Cholmain, Biodiversity Office, Dublin City Council, Seamus Griffith, Raheny Tidy Towns. Image by Raheny Tidy Towns.

This inaugural one-day event was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the great work being carried out across Dublin and beyond all year long. A big thank you to everyone who freely give up their time and to all the agencies who supported the event. Clean-ups will take place throughout the year so please contact your local group if you would like to get involved.

Learn more: www.teamdublincleanup.ie

About author

EPA Catchments Unit

Administrator

The EPA Catchments Unit is based in Dublin, and the team is involved with catchment science, chemistry, ecology, hydromorphology, modelling, Geographic Information Systems and planning. We work with the wider EPA, all of our local authorities, the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and other public bodies and Departments to ensure we have the best available data and information about our catchments.

Who 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.