WFD brings together many existing directives on water quality
Nor will single sectors of society bear a disproportional share of total WFD costs, it was pointed out at the Teagasc Johnstown Castle conference.
The WFD, adopted by the European Commission in 2000, brings together the many existing directives on water quality, including the nitrates directive.
It commits all member states to ensure that all water bodies and ground water are of at least “good status” by 2015.
More than 70% of Irish surface waters have been classified as “unpolluted”, which puts Ireland in a relatively favourable position.
But the WFD includes coastal waters, and in recent years, less than half of Irish estuarine waters have been identified as “unpolluted”.
Currently, little is known about the links between land use upstream and what happens in estuaries, according to Teagasc researchers. They said the nitrates directive will be the main ‘basic’ measure for agriculture under the WFD, but additional regional measures may be required.
Additional measures were most likely in near-original ecosystems that often include rare aquatic species, such as arctic char or the freshwater pearl mussel.
These were mostly already designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). But freshwater pearl mussels have been identified in some areas with productive agriculture, where more stringent water quality standards than the nitrates action plan would be needed — which is cause for great concern for agriculture, according to Teagasc researchers.
Arctic char is mostly found in deep mountain lakes, in the west, from Donegal to Kerry.
Freshwater pearl mussels are widely distributed in rivers and their tributaries with high quality water, mostly in Munster, in the Nore river, and in Donegal.
These river catchments are mostly already SAC designated and additional measures may not be required.
Areas such as the Burren or boglands might also require additional measures.
