Citizen science online: learning to identify Ireland’s Dragonflies and Damselflies
Dragonflies and damselflies are beautiful creatures. Their presence near freshwater can provide a useful indicator of water quality. Dave Wall, […]
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Catchment News
Floodplains: a natural system to preserve and restore
The preservation and restoration of Europe’s largely degraded floodplains, must be better prioritised according to European Environment Agency report ‘Floodplains: […]
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World Wetlands Day 2020
Each year on World Wetlands Day various groups including government agencies, non-governmental organisations and community groups organise events aimed at […]
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Friends of Rossmore Forest Park bash some Himalayan balsam
Bernie O’Hanrahan tells us how the Friends of Rossmore Park in Monaghan are learning how to manage the invasive species […]
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New EU projects launched to restore Ireland’s blanket bogs and protect and improve water quality
The European Commission Representation in Ireland has announced the launch of two major new EU-funded environmental projects aimed at restoring […]
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WaterMARKE: mitigating agricultural impacts through research and knowledge exchange
The WaterMARKE project will develop operational guidelines for farmers, advisors and policy makers for the successful implementation of water quality […]
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Catch Crops – improving soil structure and water infiltration, and reducing nitrate and soil loss
Catch crops are grown between successive cereal crops to help protect the soil and reduce the losses of nutrients and […]
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Ireland’s Blanket Bogs – more dynamic than meets the eye
Raymond Flynn and Michael Anderson from Queen’s University Belfast’s explain how Ireland’s blanket bogs are affected by the hydrology of […]
Read MoreWho 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 waterbodies.
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 and Communities Office.
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 4,829 water bodies, looking at trends and changes, determining which waterbodies are at risk and what could be causing this, and drafting environmental objectives and measures for each.
Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government
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 that will be implemented after public consultation and sign off by the Minister.