Some Progress on Water Quality, But EPA Report Shows Work Still to be Done

IFA President Francie Gorman said that the latest EPA water quality report covering the period 2019-2024 shows that all stakeholders have a job of work to do to improve water quality.

“Today’s report shows that about half of our water bodies are good or high status, similar to the last comparable report completed in 2022. While the report as a whole points to a stable or slight decline in water quality, there are also clear signs that the work undertaken by farmers, particularly on nitrates, is starting to take effect.”

It shows that total nitrogen levels have reduced significantly over the 2019-2024 period, with the final year of the analysis – 2024 – 25% lower than 2019. The report also outlined that, over the six-year period, 39% of rivers showed reducing nitrate concentrations, compared with 6% of rivers showing an increase.

“Nitrate levels in our rivers overall are trending in the right direction which is testament to the level of work and effort that farmers have put in on this, particularly in the last two to three years,” he said.

For example, in Cork, where c. 40% of the agricultural land is farmed under a Nitrates derogation, 67% of rivers are of good or high ecological status, far higher than the national average.

The report also confirms where programmes like Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) and Farming for Water EIP are active, they have delivered improvements to water quality, particularly improvements in phosphorus concentrations.

“It is clear that all stakeholders including farmers need to redouble their efforts to protect water quality. It is also absolutely imperative that issues relating to urban wate water are also dealt with as quickly as possible to make sure we really move the dial positively on water quality,” concluded Mr Gorman.