Around half of Ireland’s rivers and lakes were deemed to be of moderate, poor or bad ecological status between 2016 and 2021, according to data published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
There was a decrease in the overall condition of river ecosystems between the 2010-2015 and 2016-2021 assessment periods, with 9 per cent fewer river water bodies in good or high ecological status.
Overall, around 51 per cent of monitored river water bodies were in good or high ecological status in 2016-2021, while 49 per cent were in moderate, poor, or bad ecological status.
Louth, Dublin, and Kildare were the counties with the lowest proportion of rivers in good or high ecological status between 2016 and 2021, while Cork, Leitrim and Wicklow had the highest proposition of the same status.
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The catchments with the highest percentage of river water bodies in good or high ecological status at 79 per cent were Erriff-Clew Bay in the Galway/Mayo area and Dunmanus-Bantry-Kenmare in West Cork and Co Kerry.
The catchments with the lowest percentages were the Nanny-Delvin in the Dublin/Meath area (9 per cent) and the upper Shannon in the Athlone region.
There was a small improvement in the overall condition of lake ecosystems between the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010-2015 and 2016-2021 assessment periods, with a 4 per cent increase in the number of lake water bodies in good or high ecological status.
Around 48 per cent of the lake water bodies monitored in 2016-2021 were in good or high ecological status, with 52 per cent in moderate, poor or bad status.
The catchments with the highest percentage of lakes assigned a high ecological status were Galway Bay North and Dunmanus-Bantry-Kenmare (both at 50 per cent).
CSO statistician Nova Sharkey said around half of Ireland’s river and lake ecosystems failed to reach the objectives set out in the EU’s Water Framework Directive.
“Only river and lake ecosystems in good condition can provide us with a full suite of ecosystem services, including clean water for drinking, habitats for biodiversity, flood protection, and cultural and recreational services,” she said.
“It is worth noting that the total number of river water bodies monitored by the EPA has been increasing since the 2007-2009 assessment period, from 2,161 to 2,398.
“The percentage of monitored river water bodies reaching good or high status was highest in the 2010-2012 period at 60 per cent.
“However, there has been a decrease in ecological status in every assessment period since then, with around 51 per cent achieving good or high ecological status in 2016-2021.”
