The conclusion in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) latest report on Irish water that "the present level of water pollution control is not adequate", should be of great concern to the Government and every water user in the State. The EPA says it remains to be seen if a series of anti-pollution measures introduced since 1997 will be sufficient to arrest a decline in quality.
The figures, for 1995 to 1997, speak forcibly: a third of river channels, based on assessment of some 13,000 km of waterway, is now classified as polluted. This means that an additional 10 per cent of river length is considered seriously polluted, compared to a decade ago. It is a story of small and steady deterioration, but one can only conclude - based on figures that go back to 1971 - that it can now be considered an unrelenting process. For, as any water scientist will assert, once a water system is polluted and showing insidious symptoms of eutrophication - whereby its natural chemical balance is being upset by pollutants - it is difficult to rehabilitate it.
There is no comfort, either, in the fish kill statistics. Fish kills between 1995 and 1997 show a "substantial increase", compared to the previous period with agriculture probably accounting for 52 of the 173 kills. The position with lakes seems better; almost a fifth are in a less than satisfactory condition.
The EPA director, Mr Padraic Larkin, is right to highlight the implications of this for Ireland's highly sensitive salmon and trout stocks, not to mention our green image. A marked deterioration in the quality of Lough Leane, the jewel in Killarney's lakes, is sad confirmation of the toll eutrophication is taking.
The Republic still compares more than favourably with other European countries when it comes to water quality. But the extent of our salmonid waters is such that there is an obligation on all our freshwater users and regulatory authorities to ensure those waters are preserved.
Over-enrichment of freshwater is the main problem, caused by the process of eutrophication. This damage is mostly due to phosphate discharges from agriculture and sewage treatment plants. This factor alone could result in Ireland failing to meet the terms of a draft EU directive on the management of water resources. Agriculture may be the single biggest contributor but it is by no means the only one. Deplorably-maintained septic tanks, detergents and sewage, which does not have phosphorus removed from it, are featuring more and more.
Since 1997, the Department of the Environment has introduced a series of well-focussed measures, particularly the setting of phosphorus standards, a requirement that many farmers must draw-up "nutrient management plans", and allowing local authorities to bring in by-laws to reverse water quality deterioration in rivers and lakes. Minister of State, Mr Dan Wallace, said yesterday he was convinced that the right measures are in place to address, in a systematic way, the water quality challenges we face. The EPA report shows the extent of those challenges and places new question marks over the likely effectiveness of such initiatives. Time, it is hoped, will prove Mr Wallace right. But history suggests our anti-pollution efforts have for too long lacked the conviction necessary to merely halt decline.