The biological quality of river water bodies in parts of Donegal is worsening, according to the latest EPA Water Quality report.
The study, which examines macroinvertebrates (small aquatic animals) in rivers, found a decline in several river waters in the county over the last two years, particularly the Lough Swilly river catchments.
Ireland’s rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastal and groundwaters are showing no sign of improvement the report found.
The EPA has found that nutrient levels remain too high in a large proportion of water bodies.
Five monitored lakes in Donegal returned ‘moderate’ quality results and one was listed as ‘poor’ Monitored lakes are assessed for aquatic plants, phytoplankton, macroinvertebrates10, phytobenthos11, and fish
Donegal ranks well for the problematic nitrate levels with no unsatisfactory levels found in rivers or groundwater in the north west. However, they remain too high in the east, southeast and south.
Average phosphate concentrations remain too high in 27% of rivers nationally, the report notes. Phosphate levels fluctuate
annually but overall there has been no significant change over recent years and a number of rivers in Donegal returned ‘unsatisfactory’ levels.
Commenting on the report, Dr Eimear Cotter, Director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment, said: “It is disappointing to report that our water quality is not improving. While there are initiatives happening nationally, measures to address water quality are not being implemented at the scale or pace required.
“The quality of our water bodies will not improve until nutrient levels are reduced in areas where they are elevated. It is essential that there is full compliance with the Good Agricultural Practice Regulations and that actions to reduce losses of nutrients from agriculture are targeted to where they are needed. We also need to see an acceleration in the pace at which Uisce Éireann is delivering improvements in wastewater infrastructure”.
Mary Gurrie, EPA Programme Manager, added: “The report shows that more action is needed to achieve our legally binding water quality objectives. It is imperative that the next River Basin Management Plan, which is now over two years late, is published without further delay. Associated with this, there needs to be a significant improvement in the tracking and reporting of measures, to identify what is and isn’t working so that actions can be adapted or enhanced where needed to deliver water quality improvements.”
Water Quality in 2023: An Indicators Report is now available on the EPA website.
