Environmental Indicators Ireland 2016

• During the 1998 to 2015 period, the proportion of sites in Ireland with good bathing water quality varied from a high of 92% in 2000 to a low of 67% in 2012. The 2012 figure was due mainly to an extremely wet summer and below average sunshine. The proportion stood at 83% in 2015.

• Ireland had the 10^th worst bathing water quality in the EU in 2014, when 94.1% of sites were classified as complying with guide values (and therefore considered as being of sufficient water quality). This comprises both coastal and inland bathing sites. The EU average compliance rate was 95.2 % in 2014.

• The quality of public water supplies as measured by compliance with E. Coli standards has increased from 98.9% in 2004 to 99.9% in 2014. Compliance of Public Group Water Schemes has increased from 96.2% in 2004 to 100% in 2014, while compliance of Private Group Water Schemes has improved from 78.1% in 2004 to 97.9% in 2014.

• The compliance rate of Public Water Supplies for trihalomethanes has decreased from 96.3% in 2004 to 93% in 2014. The compliance rate of Public Group Water Schemes decreased from 100% in 2004 to 93.1% in 2014, while the compliance rate of Private Group Water Schemes also fell from 99.2% in 2004 to 93.3% in 2014.

• There has been a significant improvement in the level of treatment of urban waste water in agglomerations of over 500 persons. In 2014, 95% of urban waste water received at least secondary treatment compared with only 26% in 1997. Only 5% of urban waste water received no treatment or only preliminary treatment in 2014 compared with 46% in 1997.

• The proportion of unpolluted river water in Ireland fell from 77% in 1987-1990 to 69% in 2007-2009, before rising again to 73% in 2010-2012. The percentage of slightly polluted water has increased from 12% in 1987-1990 to 18% in 2010-2012.

• The level of seriously polluted water has remained at 1% or less during the 1987-2012 period.

• There was an improvement in groundwater quality in Ireland as measured by the amount of nitrates detected by monitoring stations over the 1995-2014 period. The number of samples with less than 5 mg/l of nitrates in groundwater increased from 15% in 1995-1997 to 26% in 2013-2014. The proportion of samples between 5 and 10 mg/l also increased from 16% in 1995-1997 to 21% in 2013-2014. In contrast, the number of samples with more than 10 mg/l fell from 70% in 1995-1997 to  54% in 2013-2014.

• Ireland ranked 10^th highest among EU member states in the proportion of groundwater bodies with good quality chemical status in 2012, with 85% of its groundwater bodies achieving this status in that year.

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