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Water quality monitoring report on nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations in Irish waters 2022

July 31, 2023 by EPA Catchments Unit | in 3rd Cycle 2022-2027, Catchment Management, News, Reports and Assessments, Science, Stories, Water Framework Directive

This report provides an update on the results of water quality monitoring to support the assessment of the impact of the nitrate’s derogation on Irish waters, as required under Regulation 37 of the European Union (Good Agricultural Practices for the Protection of Waters) (Amendment) Regulations.

The EPA has carried out the interim review of water quality as specified by the Commission as a condition of Ireland’s derogation under the Nitrates Directive. Annex 1 of this report provides an additional water quality assessment, based on the assessment criteria prescribed by the European Commission in Article 12 of Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/696.

Report and supporting information

You can download the Water quality monitoring report on nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations in Irish waters 2022 report from the EPA website.

An additional document Supporting information for the interim water quality review as required as a condition of Ireland’s derogation under the Nitrates Directive – Technical Document is also available. 

Frequently asked questions

Answers to frequently asked questions on the EPA’s assessment of water quality and agriculture have been published.

Data and downloads

The results and data from the interim water quality assessment are available for download from: https://gis.epa.ie/GetData/Download. On the menu on the left, click on “Water/ Water Framework Directive“, scroll down to “Nitrates Directive Information” and select the Excel (for results and data) or the Shapefile (for the GIS mapping data).

A screenshot of the EPA data downloads section showing how to find these files

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EPA Catchments Unit

EPA Catchments Unit

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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.

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