Water quality in the Liffey, Boyne and Suir, the most important rivers in the eastern half of the State, has worsened dramatically over the past 30 years. Yet there are still insufficient data available to make an accurate assessment as to "who is putting what into the rivers". This information gap was highlighted by Mr Jerry Grant, director of the Three Rivers Project.
As two reports were published after the first year of the project, he said "a significant nutrient load is coming from agriculture, with industry and municipal wastewater discharges also being very significant". Their research, however, indicated additional environmental strain in the form of pollution from forestry, septic tanks and householders.
Protecting these rivers, and managing them on a catchment-wide basis, required more comprehensive monitoring. "Over the coming two years, we aim to get a better handle on the estimates of pollution coming from each sector. Proposed abatement strategies being developed at present can then be more precisely targeted at the responsible sectors," he said.
The health and well-being of so many communities was intimately linked with the quality of the rivers and their adjoining lands, said Dr Colin Byrne, project co-ordinator for the Suir catchment.
His team is developing and implementing "best environmental management practices". This would enable all sectors to "take responsibility for the pollution they are generating, so the trend of deteriorating water quality can be reversed".
Through work in pilot areas, work assessing the impact of agriculture was more comprehensive, while the response of the farming community in these areas had been "very positive", said Mr Ray Earle, project co-ordinator for the Boyne and Liffey catchments.
"Agriculture is a major source of diffuse pollution, and the management practices we are implementing include monitoring and managing effluents on the farm, as well as management planning for nutrients produced or brought on to the farm."
Implementing best management throughout a catchment, however, would be a challenge, Mr Grant said. "It will require significant resources on the part of local authorities and other organisations to take the lessons of the pilot study areas and apply them to agriculture and other sectors across entire catchments."
If successful, everyone would benefit and the rivers could be returned to their former high quality, reflected in their environmental health, good-quality fisheries and river ecologies, and improved visual appearance of the water and river bed.
At present, deterioration was manifest with fewer salmon and trout, loss of water clarity, unsightly weeds and algae (especially in summer), and greater difficulty and cost in treating water for drinking.
