Catchment News

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 linkhttps://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

TimeTalkSpeaker
Day 1 – Wednesday 18 May
Session 1: Setting the Scene
09:30Opening address Laura Burke, Director General,
Environmental Protection Agency
09:45Water quality in IrelandDr Eimear Cotter, Director of Evidence and
Assessment, Environmental Protection Agency
10:10Ireland’s next River Basin
Management Plan 2022—2027
Feargal O’Coigligh Assistant Secretary, Department
of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
10:35Panel Discussion
11:00Coffee Break
Session 2: Agriculture
11:30Nitrates and water quality across the EUGorka Barrio Montoya Policy Officer
(Nitra tes Directive), EU DG Environment,
Land Use and Management
11:50Achieving water quality objectives through
regulation and incentivisation
Dr Leanne Roche, Nitrates & Biodiversity Division,
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
12:15ASSAP — A good start
but a lot more still to do
Pat Murphy, Head of Environment Knowledge
Transfer, Teagasc
12:35Panel Discussion
13:00Lunch
Session 3: Hydromorphology
14:00Flood Risk Management in
a changing environment
Mark Adamson, Head of Risk Management and
Climate Adaptation Division, Flood Risk
Management Services, Office of Public Works
14:20Assessing physical barriers
to fish migration
Brian Coghlan, Research Officer,
Inland Fisheries Ireland
14:40Restoring fish passage in the
Lower River Shannon
Marq Redeker, Principal, CDM Smith
15:00Panel Discussion
15:20Tea/Coffee
Session 4: Health and water services
15:40Research – current and emerging
concerns for water and health
Dr Anne Nolan, Associate Research Professor,
Economic and Social Research Institute
16:00Irish Water wastewater investment
plans and future needs
Ted O’Reilly, Asset Planning Lead, Irish Water
16:20Addressing significant pressures on water
quality: enforcement approaches
Jim Moriarty & Becci Cantrell, EPA
16:40Panel Discussion
17:00Close of Day 1
Day 2: Thursday 19 May
Session 5: Policy and people
09:30Water in Europe:
towards sustainable solutions
Dr Hans Bruyninckx, Executive Director,
European Environment Agency
10:00The public perception of water qualityElla McSweeney, Journalist
10:20Combining trust and science: the group
water scheme approach to integrated
catchment management
Sean Corrigan, National Federation of
Group Water Schemes
10:40Panel Discussion
11:00Tea/Coffee
Session 6: Local measures
and solutions in action
11:30Progress with the Areas for Action, data
sharing and the LAWPRO referrals process
Gary O’Connell, Catchments Manager,
Border Region, LAWPRO
11:50Improving bathing water
quality in Lough Ennell
Jonathan Deane, Senior Engineer for Water,
Environment and Climate Change,
Westmeath County Council
12:00Ennis sustainable drainage developmentLeonore O’Neill Senior Executive Officer,
Ennis Municipal District, Clare County Council
12:10Sliabh Beagh wetland
restoration and rewetting
Dr Rory Sheehan Collaborative Action Natura
Network (CANN), Monaghan County Council
12:20Panel Discussion
12:45Closing Address
13:00Close of Day 2 / Lunch
Speakers and talks for #EPAWater2022

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.