Ecosystem Accounts - Rivers and Lakes by Extent 2018

EPA Water Framework Directive Data

Rivers and canals

The extent of the river network can be seen in Map 3.1, occurring in almost every part of the country. This map also shows the location of selected canals (note that this is a subset of the canal network and includes just the canals monitored by Waterways Ireland for ecological status). The total length of rivers and canals was more than 74,000km (Table 3.1). Three counties each had more than 10% of the total length of rivers; Cork (7,584km), Donegal (7,867km), and Mayo (7,464km) (Table 3.1, Figure 3.1, Map 3.2). Dublin, Longford, and Louth had the shortest total length of rivers, at less than 900km or around 1% of the total length in each county. 

As part of the work done for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has mapped Ireland's waters, focusing on the length of rivers and not their area. For more information, see Background Notes.

Lakes and reservoirs

The total area of lakes in Ireland was 125,111 hectares, while reservoirs covered 3,473 hectares (Table 3.2). The distribution of lakes and reservoirs can be seen in Map 3.3, with the majority of lakes occurring in the midlands and west/northwest of the country, while the reservoirs can be seen in the Wicklow and Cork areas. More than 22% of the area covered by lakes occurred in Galway (28,489ha), with almost 18% in Mayo (22,394ha), as shown in Table 3.2, Figure 3.2, and Map 3.4. Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, and Louth each had less than 100 hectares of lake ecosystems. Just under two-thirds of the total area of reservoirs was in Wicklow (2,224ha), while about one third was in Cork (1,094ha).