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The Sustainable Water Network

Threats to
Our Waters

Ireland’s water environment is in crisis. Water quality is declining and water pollution is rising at an unprecedented rate. There are a number of reasons for this. Find out more.

Take Action

The good news is there are lots of ways to take action to protect our water environment and get involved. Find out more.

Our Members

We are an umbrella network of 25 of Ireland’s leading environmental NGOs working together to protect and restore Ireland’s rivers, lakes, coast and groundwater. Find out more.

Our Work

SWAN seeks to influence water policy . Find out more.

Threats to Our Waters

Ireland’s water environment is in crisis. Water quality is declining and water pollution is rising at an unprecedented rate.. Despite the requirement of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) that all our rivers, lakes and coastal waters should be ecologically healthy by 2027, numerous EPA reports have highlighted ongoing declines in water quality.

Presently, more than half of our rivers, lakes and estuaries are in an unhealthy state (47%, 50% and 62% respectively) and river water pollution is on the rise. Furthermore, we’ve lost most of our pristine river stretches, down from over 500 in the late 80s to a mere 20 today. Read More

Our Work

The Issues

There are a diverse range of pressures from human activity on our waters and SWAN works to raise awareness and influence national policy so as to address these and secure maximum protection for Ireland’s aquatic resources. Find out more.

Policy & Advocacy

The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) works in a number of policy areas related to the water environment, advocating for maximum protection for Ireland’s aquatic resources. Find out more.

Campaigns

The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) works on a number of campaigns to protect and enhance our water environment.  Find out more.

Latest News & Events

2020 Education Programme

November 13th

Filium morte multavit si sine metu contineret

November 10th

Certe, inquam, pertinax non intellegamus

October 7th

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