A catchment area in West Clare is among six areas nationwide containing a water body in ‘bad’ ecological status.
New data from the Central Statistics Office has highlighted that just under half of lakes and rivers nationwide are deemed to be in good condition.
A new CSO report has revealed the ecological status of lake and river ecosystems across Ireland between 2016 to 2021.
The report notes that only water bodies marked as being in ‘good’ condition can provide a full suite of ecosystem services such as clean water for drinking, habitats for biodiversity, flood protection, and cultural and recreational services.
The data is organised by catchment area, which is an area of land draining towards a river, lake, or other body of water, of which there are 46 nationwide.
The catchment area of Mal Bay, which is beside Spanish Point and Cleedagh Bridge, experienced a 50% drop in water bodies marked ‘good’, going from two down to one.
The West Clare catchment area was also observed to have one water body in ‘bad’ ecological status, making it one of just six catchment areas nationwide with a lake or river marked ‘bad’, along with Erne in Ulster, Erriff-Clew Bay in Connacht, Sligo Bay and Drowse, the Lower Shannon in the midlands and Lough Swilly in Donegal.
Looking at the national picture, the study notes 9% fewer lakes or rivers have a ‘good’ or ‘high’ ecological status than in the previous assessment period.
Overall, 49% of water bodies were marked ‘poor’, ‘moderate’ or ‘bad’.
