Ireland may fail to meet EU water quality standards

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is warning that Ireland could fail to achieve EU water quality standards unless improvements are made quickly.

In a report out today, the agency claims that while the cleanliness of lakes and rivers has improved, too many groundwater samples are still polluted with human and animal waste.

It says 57% of Irish groundwater sampling sites contained bacteria indicating the presence of human and animal waste.

Almost one-third of Irish rivers, nearly a quarter of coastal waters, and 8% of lakes also contain unacceptable levels of pollution.