ThreeRiv Intro Doc

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Three Rivers Project - Interim Report

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Table of

Contents

INTRODUCTION 2

PART ONEMONITORING STRATEGIES 6

Introduction 6

Three Rivers Monitoring Systems 6

Efficacy of current Monitoring Systems 9

Future Monitoring Strategies 10

PART TWODEVELOPMENT OF MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 12

Introduction 12

Strategies for reducing Pollution from Diffuse Sources 13

Strategies for reducing Pollution from Point Sources 32

Response to proposed Management Strategies 33

Additional Work 35

Forestry Catchments 35

GIS-Catchment Envisage 37

Public Awarness Campaign 37

Summary of Strategies 39

PART THREEWATER QUALITY 42

Introduction 42

Boyne Catchment 42

Liffey Catchment 45

Suir Catchment 49

Summary 52

PART FOURTASK FOR YEAR 3 54

Maps reproduced with the kind permission of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland


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Introduction

The Three Rivers Project is

a Government initiative to

develop catchment based

water quality monitoring

and management systems for

the Boyne, Liffey and Suir

rivers. This three year project

is sponsored by the

Department of the

Environment and LocalGovernment and by the

constituent Local Authorities,

with support from the

European Union Cohesion

Fund (85%). The project is

being carried out on behalf

of the Government by a

group of consultants led by

M.C. O'Sullivan and Co. Ltd,

in collaboration with

catchment co-ordinators,

under the guidance of a

single steering committee

and three Operational

Management Groups.

This Report marks the

completion of year two

of the project.

What is The

Three Rivers

Project ?

BOYNE

LIFFEY

SUIR


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Water quality in Irish lakes and rivers has

been deteriorating on a national scale over

the past 30 years due to increasing levels of

slight to moderate pollution.

This increase in pollution is mainly due to

over-enrichment of our streams and rivers

by nutrients such as phosphorus and

nitrogen and is reflected in the water

quality of the rivers Boyne, Liffey and Suir.

These nutrients enter our watercourses

either as point source discharges

emanating from sewage treatment plants,and industrial installations or as diffuse

source discharges from activities such as

agriculture and forestry or from urban

drainage.

Over-enrichment, referred to as

eutrophication, can result in excessive

growth of aquatic plants which choke

waterways and deplete oxygen resources

required for the survival of fish and other

aquatic species. The presence of healthy

salmonid (salmon and trout) populations in

a waterway is a good indication of a healthy

aquatic ecosystem suitable for beneficial

uses such as water abstraction and amenity

activities.

It is the objective of the Three Rivers

Project, and other similar catchment

management projects, to reverse this trend

of deteriorating water quality by developing

management strategies for the river

catchments as a whole which reflect a cross

sectoral approach to reducing organic and

nutrient inputs to the river.

Management strategies are being developed

by the project to tackle:

Point Source Pollution - Primarily pipe

discharges form wastewater treatment

plants and from industry.Diffuse Source Pollution - Primarily

run-off associated with land use such as

agriculture, forestry or urban

development. Because of the difficulty of

pin pointing the locations of discharges

from farmyards, septic tanks used by

unsewered populations and urban drains,

these sources of pollution are considered

as contributing to diffuse pollution.

Monitoring systems, comprising of

hydrometric, physico-chemical and

biological elements have been established

to monitor water quality on an ongoing

basis and to audit the future success of

management strategies.

A Geographical Information System (GIS)

"Catchment Envisage", is being developed

to integrate and manage data

generated by these monitoring

systems and current monitoring

programmes operated by theLocal Authorities and the

EPA (Environmental

Protection Agency).

Catchment Envisage will

also facilitate the updating

of management strategies on

an ongoing basis to target

specific catchment areas or sectors

contributing significant pollution loads

to the river systems.

A public awareness campaign is also being

implemented in the catchments, the

primary aim of which is to inform all

sectors of the community about their

responsibility in preventing water pollution.


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Waters capable ofsustaining healthy salmonid

(salmon and trout)populations are generallyof a high quality and are

suitable for all beneficial uses.

Problems with water

qualityProject Objective

It is the aim of The Three Rivers Project torestore the waters of the Boyne, Liffeyand Suir to good ecological status,suitable for all beneficial uses.


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Year 1The Preliminary and Baseline Reports published in

March 2000 detail the work carried out in the initial

year of the project. The first step in developing

strategies to alleviate any problem is to quantify the

problem and identify factors contributing to it.

Thus Year 1 of the project focused on:

establishing the baseline water quality conditions

in each catchment

identifying sources of nutrient input to the river

system (both point and diffuse)

developing preliminary management strategies to

tackle pollution sources

selecting appropriate study areas in which to testthe practicality and effect of these strategies

developing a preliminary methodology for identify

risk areas in terms of pollution generation

designing and implementing a comprehensive

monitoring system in each of the catchments

establishing dedicated project laboratories at

Clonmel (Suir) and Trim (Boyne and Liffey)

creating public awareness of the new co-operative

approach.

Monitoring strategies for quantifying nutrient

loadings from identifiable point sources such as

wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and industrial

discharges were proposed to Local Authorities.

A review of permissible loads and concentrations

from licensed discharges and WWTPs, in relation to

current quality and water quality objectives (QOs) in

receiving waters, was also proposed. Progress to date

by Local Authorities in implementing these strategies

is reviewed in Part 2 of this report.

Year 2This current report focuses on the work carried out

in Year 2 of the project. This work has primarily

concentrated on further developing management

strategies for the agricultural sector and

implementing the monitoring systems so that some

assessment of the effectiveness of these strategies

can be carried out by the end of Year 3. Considerable

field resources have been allocated to developing

nutrient management plans with a total of

211 farmers participating in the project's three

agricultural Pilot Study Areas.

In addition to the overall catchment monitoring

systems, intensive monitoring systems have been

designed and implemented in five pilot study areas.

These include the three agricultural pilot areas

mentioned above and two pilot areas selected to

study the impact of urban drainage and forestry

activities on the nutrient status of adjacent

waterways.

Weekly grab sampling has been augmented by the

installation of automatic water samplers at keylocations in each catchment, typically sampling at

hourly intervals. On-going implementation of the

monitoring systems is currently generating more than

1,000 water samples a month over the three

catchments. The Local Authorities and the EPA have

also put significant effort into installing and

upgrading the hydrometric networks during Year 2.

Year 3In Year 3 the focus of the project will be on

continuing these initiatives and will extend to

developing and implementing management strategies

for other sectors such as industry and populations on

septic tanks. Comprehensive analysis and interpreta-

tion of monitoring data will be carried out to:

establish relationships between land-use activities

and resultant water quality

identify risk areas in terms of pollution generation

establish methods of focusing management

resources in order to achieve the best improvement

in water quality in the coming years.

In addition, work will continue on:

enhancing the public awareness campaigns

commissioning Catchment Envisage and

appointing two GIS Managers.

A major focus of Year Two of the project has been on implementing strategies to control pollution from agriculture.

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