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Public Consultation on the Draft Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan for Water Quality and Water Services Infrastructure

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Mr. Eoghan Murphy T.D. Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, invites submissions, observations and comments on the Draft Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan for Water Quality and Water Services Infrastructure.

Full details of the consultation and the sectoral plan are available on the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government’s website.

Climate change is arguably one of the most important and pervasive global threats we face in the 21st century. Its main impacts are projected to relate to increasing temperatures, sea level rise, changing rainfall patterns with wetter winters and drier summers, and more intense storms. Examples of how these changes impact on Ireland have been seen in recent extreme weather events, such as the floods of the winter of 2015/16, Storm Ophelia in 2017 and the prolonged drought conditions of Summer 2018.

Climate Change is widely recognised by scientists and policymakers as posing significant, increasing risks, with exponentially rising costs – to the environment, to society, and to the global economy.

This Draft Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan:

generates a baseline of current climate and weather-related impacts and consequences for the sector;
makes an assessment of how these sectoral impacts may change in the period to 2050, based on available climate modelling and analysis; and
sets out adaptive measures which are being undertaken, clarifying where future adaptation efforts are required.

This Plan will provide strategic direction across the water sectors and will inform the design, resourcing and review of water-related adaptation policies and measures. Its development is a commitment of the River Basin Management Plan for Ireland 2018 – 2021, and it will have a significant influence on Ireland’s third-cycle River Basin Management Plan 2022 – 2027, on which work will commence later this year.

The Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan’s development is guided by the Government’s National Adaptation Framework, which sets the objective of transitioning to a climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable economy by 2050.

Why is this consultation being launched?

It is essential that we thoroughly assess the key risks and vulnerabilities of our water sector and aquatic environment to climate change, and work to ensure that climate adaptation measures are mainstreamed into all national, regional and local policy making. The views of the public are an essential element in ensuring the delivery of a robust and thorough finalised Plan.

Therefore, the objective of this public consultation is to invite all interested parties to contribute their views in relation to the Draft Plan during this 6-week consultation process.

The consultation will close on Friday 12 July 2019.

How to get involved?

Please email your submissions, observations and comments to: rbmp@housing.gov.ie

Or if you prefer, you can send them by post to:

Consultation Climate Change

Water Advisory Unit
Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government
Custom House
Dublin 1
D01 W6X0

Interested parties are invited to make written submissions or comments no later than Friday 12 July 2019.

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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.