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WaterBlitz Summary Report September 2019

Table of Contents

Thank You and Congratulations…………………………………………………… 1

Who Took Part?...... 1

What Types of Waterbodies Were Sampled?...... 1

Why Are We Doing It?...... 2

What Are We Measuring?...... 2

What Have We Seen from Your Monitoring Work?...... 3

Litter Map………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Comparisons to Other EU Cities…………………………………………………… 5

Looking Forward………………………………………………………………………… 5

Our Thanks……………………………………………………………………………….. 5

Nitrates Map………………………………………………………………………………. 6

Phosphates Map…………………………………………………………………………. 7

Impacts……………………………………………………………………………………… 8

Supported By:

Thank You and Congratulations.

The WaterBlitz would not have been possible without the help of so many volunteers who took part Thank You and Congratulations. in this year’s project. It is our first year running the WaterBlitz in Ireland and as citizen scientists you have turned heads nationally and internationally with your involvement, enthusiasm, and interestThank in Y yourou and surrounding Congratulations. environment.

We hope you enjoyed collecting your water quality data. This Irish participant report has been compiledThank Ybasedou and on Congratulations.our initial findings, collecting hundreds of results from Leinster and a handful from as far afield as Cork and Sligo. ThanksThank to Y youou ,and we Congratulations.have some fantastic data on the waterbodies in the greater Dublin area. The Liffey, Dodder and Tolka were well represented with more than 50% of the samples being taken fromThank rivers. You The and Grand Congratulations. Canal and Royal Canal were covered with 15% of the samples taken on canals.

Thank You and Congratulations.

Thank Y342ou Waterand Congratulations. 839 Participants 30 Catchment

Samples Taken over 4 Days Areas Sampled

Thank You and Congratulations.

Thank You and Congratulations. Who Took Part? What Types of Waterbodies Were Sampled?

Thank You and Congratulations. 839 Participants 30 Catchment Pond; 19; 5.6% What Types of Whatover Types4 Days of Waterbodies WereAreas Sampled? Sampled Top Catchment:342 Water Waterbodies Were ThankSamples You and Taken Congratulations. Lake; 12 ; 3.5% Sampled?Who What Types of Waterbodies Were Sampled? Took Part? River; 191; Thank You and Congratulations. 55.8%

Dodder What Types of Waterbodies Were Sampled? Canal; 53; 15.5% What181 P articipantsTypes of 839 Participants Thank You and Congratulations. 30 Catchment Waterbodies Were over 4 Days What Types of Waterbodies WereAreas Sampled? Sampled HonourableSampled?Who Mention:

ThankTook You Part? and Congratulations. 342 Water Wetland; 1; 0.3% What Types of Waterbodies Were Sampled? Samples Taken ThankWhat Y ouTypes and of Congratulations. Tolka Waterbodies Were What Types of Waterbodies Were Sampled? 103 Participants Stream839; 64Participants; 18.7% Thank Sampled?Who You and Congratulations. 30 Catchment over 4 Days Spring ; 2; 0.6% Took Part? What Types of Waterbodies WereAreas Sampled? Sampled | Page 1 of 7 |

Thank You and Congratulations.

What Types of What Types of Waterbodies Were Sampled? Who Took Part? Waterbodies Were ThankTop Catchment:Y342ou Waterand Congratulations.

Why Are We Doing It?

We need to understand where Why Are We Doing It? water quality is at risk and

where ecosystems are flourishing.Why Are WWithe D theoing help It? of

citizens, the ability to monitor suchWhy aAr e large We D numberoing It ? of waterbodies in such a short period of time is incredible. A n Why Are We Doing It? entire team of environmental

scientists wouldn’t be able to coverWhy Ar suche W e anD oing area It ? so thoroughly in just four days, but as a network of citizen Why Are We Doing It? scientists you’ve made it

possible. Why Are We Doing It? We will build on this work next

year so that we can compare howWhy Ar watere W e D qualityoing It?has changed, allowing us to build a detailed picture of fresh water Why Are We Doing It? quality on the island of Ireland. We appreciate all of the feedbackWhy Ar you’vee We Dgivenoing us I tfrom?

your experience, and we aim to

developWhy Ar thee Wprojecte Doing further It? for next year. Why Are We Doing It?

What Are We Measuring? Why Are We Doing It?

We are measuring nitrate and phosphate levels in water. The data that is being measured is used What Are We Measuring? to identify clean waterbodies that we need to protect and to identify Whypotential Are areasWe D whereoing Iactiont? needs to be taken. We also asked you to measure features such as litter presence and land use. What Are We Measuring? Water pollution may arise from multiple sources, but the most frequentWhy causes Are W includee Doing domestic It? sewage inputs (phosphates) and runoff from fertilised farmlands (nitrates). Our water infrastructure What Are We Measuring? is coping with an increasing population and our aquatic ecosystems areWhy dealing Are withWe theDoing outputs It? of urban sprawl. Clean fresh water sites are becoming increasingly precious around the world. What Have We Seen From Your Monitoring Work? Why Are We Doing It?

What Have We Seen From Your Monitoring| Page 2 of W 7 ork| ? Why Are We Doing It?

What Have We Seen From Your Monitoring Work? WhyWhat Are WAree DWeoing It?

What Have We Seen from Your Monitoring Work?

Luckily, during the 4 days of the WaterBlitz, we were able to observe samples before and after a What Have We Seen From Your Monitoring Work? large rainfall event. We could see from the results how this affected the levels of nitrates and phosphates. We found that the rain caused an increase in the levels of nutrients (particularly nitrates)What Hinave some W elocations Seen Fr. om Your Monitoring Work?

It is possible that the heavy rain caused run-off which led to increased nitrates in the waterbodies. RainfallWhat onHave hard W surfacese Seen canFrom also Y ourwash M onitoringpollutants intoWork a ?stormwater network and to the nearest wastewater treatment plant. Finally, it may be the case that the increased runoff from rain may flush out pollutants in the network, What Have We Seen From Your Monitoring Work? especially if there are issues such as misconnected sewage pipes or ‘fatbergs’ from household flushingWhat Handave pouring We S eenof inappropriate From Your items. Monitoring Work?

We found that 18% of rivers We found more than 90% of Whathad Have high We orSeen moderate From Your - highMonitoring Workcanals? had low levels of

nutrient levels. phosphates and nitrates . What Have We Seen From Your Monitoring Work? Rivers have large drainage basins, Canals are sealed waterbodies without

collecting water from large areas of receiving water from pipes or streams. Whatland. Have This W providese Seen moreFrom opportunities Your Monitoring WTheork ? water is more or less stable in for pollutants to be dissolved and to them, while rivers receive inputs from enter the water. lots of sources. What Have We Seen From Your Monitoring Work?

20 WhatWe 15Have found We Sthateen Fr18%om Yofour rivers Monitoring WWeork ?found more than 90% of

had10 high or moderate - high canals had low levels of

(mm) 5 What Rainfall Have Wnutriente Seen Fr levels.om Your Monitoring Workphosphates? and nitrates. 0

Rivers100 have large drainage basins, Canals are sealed waterbodies without What collecting Have W watere Seen from From large Your areas Monitoring of Wreceivingork? water from pipesRED: or High streams. land. This provides more opportunities The water is more or ORANGE: less stable Moderate in - High 80 for pollutants to be dissolved and to them, while rivers receiveYELLOW: inputs Moderatefrom Whatenter Have the W water.e Seen From Your Monitoring Wlotsork of? sources. GREEN: Low - Moderate 60 BLUE: Low

What(%) Have We Seen From Your Monitoring Work? 40 We found that 18% of rivers We found more than 90% of

What had 20Have high We orSeen moderate From Your - highMonitoring Workcanals? had low levels of nutrient levels. phosphates and nitrates.

0 Rivers have large drainage basins, Canals are sealed waterbodies without What Have We S21-Sepeen From Your Monitoring22-Sep Work? 23-Sep Samples River of Status Nutrient collecting water from large areas of receiving water from pipes or streams.

Graph:land. Overall This nutrient provides status more of opportunities river samples compared The to the water rainfall is recordedmore or (Dublin less stable Airport) in that day. Red indicates high nitrates and phosphates. Orange indicates high nitrates or phosphates. Yellow indicates moderate Whatfor H ave pollutants We S een to be Fr dissolvedom Your and Monitoring to Wthem,ork? while rivers receive inputs from nitrates and phosphates. Green indicates moderate nitrates or phosphates. Blue indicates low nitrates and phosphates. enter the water. lots of sources. | Page 3 of 7 | What Have We Seen From Your Monitoring W ork? Figure: Overall nutrient status of river samples compared to the rainfall recorded (Dublin Airport) that day. We found that 18% of rivers We found more than 90% of What Have We Seen From Your Monitoring Work? had high or moderate - high canals had low levels of Litter Map.

Unfortunately, litter was observed at more than a third of the sample locations. This even included Comparisons To Other EU Cities. non-urban areas such as Glendalough Upper Lake and a Holy Well.

The presence of plastic in our ecosystems is damning, especially with the recent realisation that Comparisons To Other EU Cities. microplastics are commonplace nearly everywhere in the world – small fragments of plastic are carried by wind in the air. Comparisons To Other EU Cities. Litter in our streams and rivers ultimately enters the ocean, enters the water cycle, and enters the food chain – we eat roughly a credit cards worth of plastic every week.

Comparisons To Other EU Cities.

| Page 4 of 7 | Comparisons To Other EU Cities.

Comparisons To Other EU Cities. Comparisons to Other EU Cities.

The sites measured in Dublin had a higher proportion of low nutrients than other EU cities. Notably, Comparisons To Other EU Cities. higher proportions of floating algae were observed, indicating that our freshwater ecosystems may be naturally more sensitive to excess nutrients than other cities. Finally, Dublin sites recorded very highComparisons percentages Toof litter,Other with EU only Cities. Paris having a slightly higher amount.

Looking Forward. Comparisons To Other EU Cities.

The massive impact you have made on this project and how grateful we are for your enthusiasm Looking Forward. cannot be understated. Everyone has a role to play in protecting our resources and ecosystems. Comparisons To Other EU Cities. Because of your interest and assistance, we can build up a picture of water quality nationally.

Looking Forward.

WeComparisons hope that you To will Other participate EU Cities. in future events. Going forward, we can start to identify areas of high er risk and help inform how these bodies of water can be protected.

Looking Forward. OurComparisons Thanks. To Other EU Cities.

Looking Forward. Many thanks to EarthWatch for facilitating our involvement in this project and running it not only in OurComparisons Thanks. To Other EU Cities. Dublin but also in Paris, Luxembourg and London. Thanks to RBC who sponsor the project in coordination Looking F orwardwith EarthWatch. . OurComparisons Thanks. To Other EU Cities.

Looking Forward. OurComparisons Thanks. To Other EU Cities.

Looking Forward. Comparisons To Other EU Cities. Our Thanks.

Looking Forward. OurComparisons Thanks. To Other EU Cities.

Looking Forward. Comparisons To Other EU Cities. Our Thanks.

Looking Forward. Comparisons To Other EU Cities.

Our Thanks.

Looking Forward. OurComparisons Thanks. To Other EU Cities.

Looking Forward. | Page 5 of 7 | Comparisons To Other EU Cities. Our Thanks.

Looking Forward. Comparisons To Other EU Cities. Our Thanks. Map: Levels of all nitrate measurements recorded during the WaterBlitz.

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Map: Levels of all phosphate measurements recorded during the WaterBlitz.

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Impacts Using citizen science, it is possible to generate really useful robust data about our water quality in a very short timeframe.

The blitz highlighted that the nutrient status of freshwater in Dublin was better than in other European cities, however, higher levels of algae were observed.

The results showed us that freshwater bodies in Dublin are sensitive to weather events, with nutrient levels increasing following heavy rainfall.

WaterBlitz Summary Report September 2019

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