2024 EPA Water Conference

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The EPA Water Conference 2024 took place on 12 and 13 June, in Galway and online. Speakers shared their knowledge on how to protect & improve water quality in Ireland and showcased case studies from around Ireland and all talks from the conference are now available online.

2024 EPA Water Conference – Conference Programme

Download 2024 EPA Water Conference Programme

2024 EPA Water Conference – Videos

Session 1 – Introduction & scene setting

1. Introduction and scene settingDr Eimear Cotter, Director of the Office of Evidence and Assessment, Environmental Protection Agency
2. Water and biodiversity – plans for the futureFintan Towey, Assistant Secretary, Water Division, DHLGH
3. European PerspectiveTrine Christiansen, European Environment Agency
4. Ireland’s latest water quality indicatorsWayne Trodd, EPA Water

Session 2 – Water and climate: adaption and resilience

5. Scenario planning and climate adaptation for waterDr Conor Quinlan, EPA
6. HydroPredict: Ensemble River Flow Scenarios for Climate Change AdaptationConor Murphy, Maynooth University
7. Flood Forecasting in Ireland – the story so farRosemarie Lawlor, Met Éireann

Session 3 – Water and agriculture: awareness and action

8. Policy DevelopmentBill Callanan, Department of Agriculture, Food & The Marine
9. Teagasc’s Water Quality CampaignStan Lalor, Teagasc
10. The National Agricultural Inspection ProgrammeRay Cullinane, EPA
11. Farming for Water EIP – working with famers to move beyond complianceMairead Whitty, Water EIP
12. A data-driven approach to target nitrogen reductionsEoin McAleer, LAWPRO

Session 4 – Water for Health

13. Water services – Overview from DHLGHDonal Cronin, DHLGH
14. Rural Water Service reviewJean Rosney, NFGWS
15. Drinking Water Source Protection – achieving success togetherLorraine Gaston, Uisce Éireann
16. The recast urban Wastewater Directive – the future for wastewater treatmentCarla McNeil, Uisce Éireann

Session 5 – Ripple Effects: learning form people and projects

17. The Role of Rivers Trusts across the island of IrelandCarol Quish & Freya Connolly, The Rivers Trust
18. The Burrishole Catchment – what long term monitoring can tell usElvira de Eyto, Marine Institute
19. Dublin Urban Rivers LifeLorraine Beirne, SDCC
20. CatchmentCare: an evidence-based approach to restoring river habitatsSarah McClean, Loughs Agency
Wexford Harbour
Wexford, Co. Wexford

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.

LAWCO

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.

EPA

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.

DECLG

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.