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Speakers and talks announced for 2022 EPA Water Conference, 18 + 19 May, Galway and online

The speakers and talks have been announced for the 2022 EPA Water Conference which is in Galway on 18 and 19 May. You can attend register to attend in person or online.

Speakers will share their knowledge on how to protect & improve water quality in Ireland and showcase case studies from around Ireland. You will learn about the state of Ireland’s waters, European and national policy, the development of plans and work at national, regional and local scale. There will be opportunities to meet, take part in polls and ask questions.

Join us for #EPAWater2022 using this registration link: https://ti.to/waterconference/2022

All talks will be added to YouTube after the event.

You can also download the 2022 EPA Water Conference programme.

Queries can be emailed to EPAWater@GoWest.ie

Time	Talk	Speaker
	Day 1 – Wednesday 18 May
	Session 1: Setting the Scene
09:30	Opening address	Laura Burke, Director General, Environmental Protection Agency
09:45	Water quality in Ireland	Dr Eimear Cotter, Director of Evidence and Assessment, Environmental Protection Agency
10:10	Ireland’s next River Basin Management Plan 2022—2027	Feargal O’Coigligh Assistant Secretary, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
10:35	Panel Discussion
11:00	Coffee Break
	Session 2: Agriculture
11:30	Nitrates and water quality across the EU	Gorka Barrio Montoya Policy Officer (Nitra tes Directive), EU DG Environment, Land Use and Management
11:50	Achieving water quality objectives through regulation and incentivisation	Dr Leanne Roche, Nitrates & Biodiversity Division, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
12:15	ASSAP — A good start but a lot more still to do	Pat Murphy, Head of Environment Knowledge Transfer, Teagasc
12:35	Panel Discussion
13:00	Lunch
	Session 3: Hydromorphology
14:00	Flood Risk Management in a changing environment	Mark Adamson, Head of Risk Management and Climate Adaptation Division, Flood Risk Management Services, Office of Public Works
14:20	Assessing physical barriers to fish migration	Brian Coghlan, Research Officer, Inland Fisheries Ireland
14:40	Restoring fish passage in the Lower River Shannon	Marq Redeker, Principal, CDM Smith
15:00	Panel Discussion
15:20	Tea/Coffee
	Session 4: Health and water services
15:40	Research – current and emerging concerns for water and health	Dr Anne Nolan, Associate Research Professor, Economic and Social Research Institute
16:00	Irish Water wastewater investment plans and future needs	Ted O’Reilly, Asset Planning Lead, Irish Water
16:20	Addressing significant pressures on water quality: enforcement approaches	Jim Moriarty & Becci Cantrell, EPA
16:40	Panel Discussion
17:00	Close of Day 1

	Day 2: Thursday 19 May
	Session 5: Policy and people
09:30	Water in Europe: towards sustainable solutions	Dr Hans Bruyninckx, Executive Director, European Environment Agency
10:00	The public perception of water quality	Ella McSweeney, Journalist
10:20	Combining trust and science: the group water scheme approach to integrated catchment management	Sean Corrigan, National Federation of Group Water Schemes
10:40	Panel Discussion
11:00	Tea/Coffee
	Session 6: Local measures and solutions in action
11:30	Progress with the Areas for Action, data sharing and the LAWPRO referrals process	Gary O’Connell, Catchments Manager, Border Region, LAWPRO
11:50	Improving bathing water quality in Lough Ennell	Jonathan Deane, Senior Engineer for Water, Environment and Climate Change, Westmeath County Council
12:00	Ennis sustainable drainage development	Leonore O’Neill Senior Executive Officer, Ennis Municipal District, Clare County Council
12:10	Sliabh Beagh wetland restoration and rewetting	Dr Rory Sheehan Collaborative Action Natura Network (CANN), Monaghan County Council
12:20	Panel Discussion
12:45	Closing Address
13:00	Close of Day 2 / Lunch

Speakers and talks for #EPAWater2022

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.