The Grand Canal and one of Dublin's lesser-known rivers fared reasonably well in an assessment of their water quality in a project at the Esat BT Young Scientist Exhibition.
Two students from Cólaiste Bride in Clondalkin in west Dublin decided to measure water standards in a project entitled "An investigation of Clondalkin's waterways".
Ciara McGrane (16), and Amy Barden (15), both transition year students, used a battery of tests on samples taken from the Grand Canal near its 9th lock and from the River Camac, which flows through Corkagh Park and on through Inchicore before reaching the Liffey.
"I live beside the Camac and Amy lives beside the canal," explained Ciara, so the two decided to check what pollution might taint the two watercourses.
They tested for "BOD", biological oxygen demand, which is a measure of the bacteriological content.
They measured temperature, acidity and also suspended and dissolved solids in water samples taken over a nine-week period.
They found the two were slightly acidic, but overall the water quality was surprisingly good. "It wasn't that polluted at all. It was actually quite good water quality," said Ciara.
Amy added that there may have been confounding factors which made the water quality appear better than it might typically have been. "We put it down to the record rainfall during the sampling period in November," she said.
Amy is a newcomer to the exhibition and Ciara is taking part for her second year.
Both would like to return to the RDS next year by extending their initial study, sampling the canal and the Camac right through the summer.