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Hydrology Summary Bulletin – March 2026

Hydrology Summary Bulletin outlining the flows in rivers, rainfall, lake and turlough levels, groundwater levels and spring outflows of over 300 stations across Ireland for the month of March, 2026.

March 2026 was mild and relatively wet overall, driest in the south and southeast. Low pressure to the northwest and high pressure to the southeast brought a mobile Atlantic regime for much of the month with winds mostly between southerly and westerly. This led to periods of frontal rain or showers at times, sometimes heavy, but also periods where transient ridges of high pressure brought some dry days with pleasant spring sunshine.

Compared to February 2026, average river flows in March decreased at almost all of the 135 river monitoring stations assessed, with the greatest decreases observed in the southeast. However, 51% of the monthly average river flows remained above the normal long-term range, particularly in the midlands. Although lake levels decreased at 79% of lake sites monitored, 78% remained above the long-term normal range. Groundwater levels also decreased but remained within the normal or above normal range. Out of the five spring flows monitored, 2 were in the ‘above normal’ range and 3 were classified as ‘normal’.

Download and read the full Hydrology bulletin for March 2026 here.

About EPA Monthly Hydrology Bulletin: Monthly Hydrology Bulletin – Catchments.ie – Catchments.ie

Access previous EPA monthly Hydrology Bulletins here: Monitoring & Assessment: Freshwater & Marine Publications | Environmental Protection Agency

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.