Catchment News

Watch the Communities Caring for Water Conference 2022

Videos are now available from this conference which took place on Saturday 26 November in the Collins Barracks Museum in Dublin. The Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) and The Rivers Trust organised the conference as a platform to showcase successful projects and initiatives by energetic and ambitious groups. The citizen science and river restoration work of community groups, rivers trusts, local development companies, LEADER, and charities were also highlighted.

Opening and welcome

Session 1: Communities Collaborating for Water Quality

Session 2: Opportunities to integrate Nature Based Solutions in the Urban & Rural Environments

Session 3: Citizen Science Initiatives

Session 4: Looking ahead: Community involvement in Catchment Management Plans

The online survey referenced in session 4 can be opened at this link:
 https://consult.watersandcommunities.ie/en/content/catchment-community-forum-survey

Wrap up and Event Close – Mark Horton, The Rivers Trust

Learn more:

Communities Caring for Water Conference 2022 – Local Authority Water Programme (lawaters.ie)

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.