Ireland’s bathing water results are broadly positive, but headline classifications do not tell the full story about pollution risk, rainfall and public health. Bathing season is back and it always brings a familiar sense of relief. Longer evenings, brighter weather and the pull of the sea, lakes and rivers remind us how deeply water is woven into Irish life. Across … Read more
The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) has responded to the EPA’s latest bathing water report, warning that while most of Ireland’s swimming spots meet official standards, this does not reflect the reality experienced at Ireland’s swimming spots throughout the year or the wider pollution picture affecting many waterways. Ongoing pollution and declining water quality show that … Read more
This time of year, we start thinking about getting back to or starting up healthy routines. Often it is a major part of our new year resolutions. One that more people are choosing to add to their list is wild cold-water dips or swims. The list of health benefits associated with it are many including … Read more
Two of Ireland’s leading environmental groups, the Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) and The Rivers Trust, have today called the Government’s sign off on the designation of a tenth (466) of our rivers, lakes and coastal waters as “Heavily Modified Water Bodies” [1], irresponsible and unacceptable. “Heavily Modified Water Bodies” is a technical term that, in … Read more
The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), a network of 25 Irish environmental organisations, sees the EU Nitrates Committee decision today, to give Ireland another three-year extension of its Nitrates Derogation, as going against what the science is saying, the law is meant to protect, and what is in the best interest of the general public and … Read more
The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), a network of 25 environmental organisations, has welcomed yesterday’s European Court of Justice ruling [1] that Ireland is in breach of its obligations under the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), the centrepiece of EU water protection law. This is a strong and wide-ranging ruling, identifying serious non-compliances with a whole … Read more
The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), a coalition of twenty-five of Ireland’s leading environmental organisations working on water, has responded to today’s EPA Water Quality report [1] with deep concern, calling on the Government to implement stronger, more urgent measures to restore Ireland’s waterways. The latest EPA report reveals that nearly half (48%) of Ireland’s surface … Read more
The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), representing 25 of Ireland’s leading environmental NGOs, has warned that the recent EPA Urban Wastewater Treatment Report [1] demonstrates that pressing failures persist due to inadequate management and slow infrastructural delivery, posing serious risks to water quality, public health, and biodiversity. More urgent action is needed by Uisce Eireann and … Read more
Almost one month ago today, one of Ireland’s worst ecological disasters unfolded on the River Blackwater in Cork – an estimated 50,000 fish—salmon, trout, eels, lamprey—were reported dead in a stretch of the River Blackwater in Cork. At the time of writing, the cause is believed to be a chemical agent entering the river, but … Read more
