Government's water action plan 'too little, too late', say environmental groups

Sinéad O’Brien, co-ordinator of SWAN, said: 'We’ve been at this 24 years now and water quality isn’t improving'

A new water action plan launched by the Department of Housing and Local Government is not ambitious enough to reverse the declining quality of Irish rivers, lakes, and coastal waters, an environmental NGO has warned.

The Water Action Plan 2024 was launched by Minister Malcolm Noonan in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny on the banks of the River Nore on Thursday.

The plan, which is Ireland’s third River Basin Management Plan and is legally required by the EU’s Water Framework Directive, would restore a maximum of 300 waterbodies to “good” ecological status by 2027.

Increased measures to tackle fertiliser run-off from farms, 4,500 additional farm inspections per year with 60 new local staff working in compliance, and a review of the contentious Arterial Drainage Act are some of the measures the Water Action Plan 2024 outlines.

The plan will cost a minimum of €716.5 million to implement.

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The plan was hailed by Minister Noonan at its launch as “an approach that embeds better governance, co-ordination, and accountability” into the core aims of reducing water pollution, restoring ecosystems, and investing in water infrastructure.

“As our population grows and our climate changes, it’s vital that everyone puts their shoulder to the wheel to protect the vulnerable water resources that we all depend on,” he said.

However, the Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), an umbrella group of Ireland’s water NGOs, has warned that the plan is "too little, too late".

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“2027 is the final deadline to meet our obligations under the Water Framework Directive which has been in place since the year 2000. We’ve been at this 24 years now and water quality isn’t improving,” said Sinéad O’Brien, co-ordinator of SWAN. 

“It has actually gotten worse. With a deadline of 2027 and with half of our waters unhealthy, this needed to be a very, very ambitious plan to really escalate actions to address the main pressures on the health of our water bodies.

“The pressures of run-off from agriculture and forestry and discharge from Waste Water Treatment Plants are three of the top four and the Water Action Plan doesn’t do enough to address any of those pressures.” 

Water quality worsening 

The EU Water Framework Directive aims to have all water bodies in all member states restored to “good” ecological status by 2027 through implementing River Basin Management Plans, of which the new government Water Action Plan is the third.

Almost half of all Irish water bodies, 45%, are now failing to meet “good” quality.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the new Water Action Plan will see 150 to 300 extra water bodies reach healthy status by 2027: this is just 6.8% to 13.6% of the 2,200 water bodies in Ireland that are not of “good” quality.

Since the Water Framework Directive was introduced in 2000, Irish water pollution levels have worsened instead of improved. During the first River Basin Management Plan from 2009-2015, 43% of Irish water bodies were failing to meet “good” status.

Positives

There were some positives in the new Water Action Plan 2024, including a proposed review of the Arterial Drainage Act, Ms O’Brien said.

“The review of the Arterial Drainage Act, which for many years SWAN and others have been calling, for is a significant and important addition to the final plan,” she said.

“Physical alterations to rivers including dredging, deepening, and drainage are the second biggest threat to their ecological health, and in large parts of the country, this is mandated by this outdated act. 

"Reviewing and reforming it will be critical to restoring thousands of kilometres of rivers back to good health. Also, the commitment to the development of Catchment Management Plans and the involvement of local communities is a positive step forward."