Nearly half of Irish lakes and rivers not of good standard — and the issue is getting worse 

An algae bloom (green scum) visible on the shoreline of Lough Leane near Ross Castle, Killarney on Tuesday. File picture: Don MacMonagle

Nearly a half of Irish surface water — such as that in lakes, rivers, wetlands and streams — was not considered to be of high or good biological quality in 2019, a major environmental report has found.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report on water quality also found that more than a third of rivers, and a quarter of lakes, are failing to meet their environmental quality standards for nutrients — with human activity the main culprit.