Catchment News

Home News September 2023 Hydrology Bulletin

September 2023 Hydrology Bulletin

September 2023 brought heatwaves, heavy rainfall and Storm Agnes. Monthly rainfall was above the long-term average for September in most places, wettest in the East and Southwest.

The monthly average river flows for September remained high, with 83% of river flows above the
long-term average for September. 55% of lake and turlough monitoring stations observed levels
above the long-term normal range for this month.

This map show the river flows across Ireland for September 2023.

Average monthly groundwater levels were 52% lower than the previous month, but over half (57%)
of monitoring wells had levels above the long-term average for September. Similarly, most
monitored spring outflows were above the normal range this time of year.

Learn more:

September 2023 EPA Hydrology Bulletin

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.