Lough Carra marl lake – protecting one of Ireland’s most unique and threatened habitats
Lough Carra in County Mayo is a unique lake in the west of Ireland and indeed in Europe, due to […]
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Author
EPA Catchments Unit
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.
Recent articles by Patrick
The National Federation of Group Water Schemes (NFGWS) – working to make their pumphouses pollinator-friendly
The National Federation of Group Water Schemes (NFGWS) is the representative organisation for community-owned rural water services in Ireland. They’ve […]
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World Wetlands Day – Sunday 2nd February
World Wetlands Day occurs annually on February 2nd, marking the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on […]
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An Fóram Uisce – The Water Forum: inspiring, informing, educating and challenging us all to act for clean and healthy waters
Gretta McCarron tells us about The Water Forum, and some new faces who have just joined. The forum represents water […]
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European Environment Agency’s ‘The European environment – state and outlook 2020’ report outlines the scale and urgency of environmental challenges facing us
Europe will not achieve its 2030 goals without urgent action during the next 10 years to address the alarming rate […]
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Anglers in border region scale up lake monitoring
The Local Authority Waters Programme is helping anglers in the border region monitor their lakes using innovative citizen science techniques. […]
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Explore your shore: volunteer to explore Irish coastal biodiversity
Dave Wall from the National Biodiversity Data Centre tells us how you can help map our marine biodiversity with the […]
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Citizen Science: how you can help monitor and understand your local environment
The EPA is working on citizen science in partnership with the National Biodiversity Data Centre, An Taisce and others. Citizens […]
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Dragonfly Ireland 2019 – 2024 citizen science survey seeking volunteers
Dragonflies and damselflies are beautiful creatures. Their presence near freshwater can provide a useful indicator of water quality. Dave Wall, […]
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What’s the Story of Your Stuff?
The Story of Your Stuff is a competition aimed at second-level students. Let’s get thinking about… stuff! Consider what your […]
Read MoreWho 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.