River Basin Management Plan for Ireland 2018 - 2021 Prepared by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government housing.gov.ie River Basin Management Plan for Ireland 2018 - 2021 Prepared by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government www.housing.gov.ie WATER essential for life vital to our environment central to communities critical to our economy River Basin Management Plan for Ireland | 2018 - 2021 Foreword Water is of fundamental importance to life and have learned from our natural environment. Directly or indirectly, the experiences of it affects all aspects of life. Good water quality the first cycle of river is critical to our well-being, as individuals, as a basin management society, as an economy and as a country. It follows, planning and given then, that by protecting water quality we are careful consideration protecting a resource which is fundamental to to ensuring better Ireland as we know it. Our water bodies provide on-the-ground us with drinking water, but are also sources delivery of measures. of amenity for our people and visitors to our New governance country alike. The careful stewardship of our and implementation aquatic environment underpins our well-being structures will drive co-ordinated delivery and and our economy. Good water quality is a key give people and representative groups a voice and driver of economic activity in sectors such as influence on policy development and delivery. agri-food, pharmaceuticals and tourism that rely on a safe and secure water supply. At an even With effective implementation, we can expect more rudimentary level, our water bodies are a to see the Plan’s ambitious suite of measures natural resource which was passed down to us translated into tangible improvements in water by previous generations. We owe it to ourselves quality in over 700 water bodies. The investment and to future generations to protect our water of €1.7 billion in waste-water infrastructure over resources. the period of this Plan to 2021 will see over 250 projects in urban areas progressed. Over the Over the last decade, the quality of our water has same period, we will take decisive steps towards stood still. As we look to the future, we are faced sustainable and efficient water use, reducing with increasing demands on our water resources leakage from our water network by 61 billion from a growing population and economy. It is litres per year. We will enhance the assessment of essential that we take strong steps to protect risks to water quality in our planning processes, and improve our water quality; by both making and significantly increase the numbers of people river basin management plans and implementing on the ground, analysing water quality at water them. We are addressing this imperative. This catchment level and working with communities to River Basin Management Plan is a new approach address challenges. to the protection, improvement and sustainable management of the water environment. We now This River Basin Management Plan will build the have a much-improved evidence base to support foundations and momentum for the long-term the development of new national policies and delivery of water-quality improvement. The initiatives, and to more effectively guide the improved implementation and engagement deployment of supporting measures at local level. structures which have guided the Plan’s creation are the foundations for taking better care of our We have reached out to people through water environment for the future. extensive consultation at national policy and local community levels. The strong feedback Eoghan Murphy, T.D. received has directly shaped the new and revised Minister for Housing, Planning policies which are contained in this Plan. We and Local Government River Basin Management Plan for Ireland | 2018 - 2021 Contents Foreword Executive Summary River Basin Management Plan, 2018–2021 i Introduction & Background iii Water Quality Status and Catchment Characterisation iii Significant Pressures onAt Risk Water Bodies iv Environmental Objectives and Priorities v Programme of Measures — Summary of Key Measures v Implementation Strategy vii Communication and Public & Stakeholder Engagement vii Expected Outcomes viii Section 1: Introduction and Background 1 1.1 Second-Cycle River Basin Management Plan in Context 2 1.2 The Irish River Basin District 3 Section 2: Developing the River Basin Management Plan 6 2.1 Approach to Developing the Plan 7 2.2 Supporting Structures for Development of the River Basin Management Plan 7 2.2.1 Water Policy Advisory Committee 7 2.2.2 Programme of Measures Steering Group 8 2.3 Links to other Government Policies and Plans 8 2.4 Public Consultation Processes 8 2.4.1 Significant Water Management Issues Consultation 9 2.4.2 Direct Public Consultation on the Draft River Basin Management Plan 9 2.4.3 Local Public Consultation via Local Authority Waters and Communities Office 10 2.5 Influence of Consultation on the Plan 10 2.6 Environmental Assessment and the Plan 14 2.6.1 Strategic Environmental Assessment 14 2.6.2 Appropriate Assessment 14 2.6.3 Integration of Environmental Considerations into the River Basin Management Plan 15 2.7 Conclusion 15 River Basin Management Plan for Ireland | 2018 - 2021 Section 3: Review of the 1st Cycle — Measures Implemented and Outcomes 17 3.1 Key Measures Implemented to Support the Delivery of Environmental Objectives during the First Cycle of River Basin Management Plans 17 3.1.1 Legal Framework for Water Framework Directive Implementation and Associated Actions 17 3.1.2 Legal Framework for the Implementation of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive and Associated Actions 18 3.1.3 Legal Framework for Implementation of the Nitrates Directive and Associated Actions 19 3.2 Other Measures for Delivery of Environmental Objectives 21 Section 4: Current State of the Water Environment 23 4.1 Assessing the Condition of Irish Waters 23 4.2 The Ecological Status of Waters and Changes over the First Cycle 24 4.3 Heavily Modified Water Bodies and Artificial Water Bodies 26 4.4 Waters that have Improved or Deteriorated 26 4.5 The Continued Long-Term Decline in High-Status River Catchments 28 4.6 Chemical Status of Surface Waters 29 4.7 The Condition of Water-Dependent Protected Areas 30 4.7.1 Bathing Waters 30 4.7.2 Nutrient-Sensitive Areas 31 4.7.3 Drinking Water Protected Areas 31 4.7.4 Shellfish Waters 32 4.7.5 Protected Water-Dependent Habitats and Species 33 Section 5: Catchment Characterisation & Environmental Pressures on the Water Environment 35 5.1 Risks to Water Bodies 35 5.2 National Overview of Risk Assessment 36 5.2.1 Water Bodies for which the Objective is High Status 36 5.2.2 Water-Dependent Habitats and Species in Special Areas of Conservation 37 5.2.3 Assessing Risk in Waters Not Covered by the National Monitoring Programme 37 5.3 Assessment of Significant Environmental Pressures 38 5.3.1 Overview of Assessment 38 5.3.2 Significant Pressures 40 5.3.3 High-Ecological-Status Water Bodies: Significant Pressures 44 5.3.4 Water Dependent Protected Areas in SACs: Significant Pressures 45 River Basin Management Plan for Ireland | 2018 - 2021 Section 6: Environmental Objectives of the Water Framework Directive 47 6.1 Environmental Objectives Set Out in the water Framework Directive 47 6.2 Prioritisation for the Second-Cycle River Basin Management Plan 47 6.3 Prioritisation Process and Outcomes 48 6.4 Water Bodies Outside the Areas for Action 49 Section 7: Measures to Protect and Improve Our Water Bodies 51 7.1 Addressing Pressures from Rural Diffuse and Point-Source Pollution 52 7.1.1 Domestic Waste-Water Treatment 52 7.1.2 Domestic Waste-Water Treatment Systems — Principal Actions for the 2nd Cycle 52 7.1.3 Addressing Pressures from Agricultural Diffuse and Point-Source Pollution 53 7.1.4 High-Level Actions to Address Rural Diffuse and Point-Source Pollution 53 7.1.5 Supporting Measures for Agricultural Diffuse and Point-Source Pollution 55 7.1.6 Agricultural Diffuse & Point-Source Pollution — Principal Actions for the 2nd Cycle 60 7.2 Addressing Pressures from Urban Waste-Water 62 7.2.1 High-Level Actions to Address Pressures from Urban Waste-Water 62 7.2.2 Supporting Measures for Urban Waste-water 65 7.2.3 Urban Waste-Water and Urban Runoff — Principal Actions for the 2nd Cycle 67 7.3 Addressing Pressures from Forestry 68 7.3.1 Programme of Measures to Address Pressures from Forestry 68 7.3.2 Mobilisation Measures 71 7.3.3 Principal Actions for the 2nd Cycle 71 7.4 Addressing Pressures from the Harvesting of Peatlands 72 7.4.1 Programme of Measures to Address Pressures from Harvesting of Peatlands 72 7.4.2 Peatlands — Principal Actions for the 2nd cycle 75 7.5 Protecting Water Bodies from Invasive Alien Species 76 7.5.1 Programme of Measures to Address Aquatic and Riparian Invasive Alien Species with High Impact on Surface Waters 77 7.5.2 Invasive Alien Species — Principal Actions for the 2nd cycle 78 7.6 Measures to Protect and Improve the Physical Condition of the Water Environment 79 7.6.1 Programme of Measures for Improving the Physical Condition of the Water Environment 79 7.6.2 Protecting and Improving the Physical Condition of the Water Environment — Principal Actions for the 2nd Cycle 83 River Basin Management Plan for Ireland | 2018 - 2021 7.7 Addressing Abstraction Pressures 84 7.7.1 River Basin District Characterisation and Abstraction Risk Assessment 84 7.7.2 Programme of Measures to Address Abstraction Pressures 84 7.7.3 Addressing Water Abstraction Pressures — Principal Actions for the