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Be Summer Ready

During the summer months, Ireland’s waterways and beaches become very popular. More people visit the countryside, engage in outdoor pursuits, visit family farms or take holidays abroad.

With these activities there are associated risks and a new booklet form the Irish government provides information on these. In addition, people die in Ireland in drowning accidents, farm accidents, on our roads or succumb to summer related illnesses.

This booklet includes a link to www.beaches.ie

Beaches.ie shares the latest information on over 200 bathing waters sampled by local authorities during the bathing water season, which runs from 1st June to 15th September. Information on weather, tides and amenities and accessibility are also available.

Learn more:

http://www.gov.ie/summerready/

This campaign is part of the Government of Ireland initiative to provide information to the general public on issues which may affect them during the summer months in Ireland. The campaign compliments a long standing and very successful “Be Winter Ready” public information campaign.

About author

EPA Catchments Unit

Administrator

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.

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.

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 4,842 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.

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.