1. .
Stephen Barry
Update on the Water
Framework Directive
Stephen Barry,
Environment, Health and Safety Supervisor,
Environment Division,
6th September 2016

2. Water Framework Directive (WFD)
WFD Aims
 protect/enhance all surface, ground
and coastal waters
 achieve "good status" for waters by
December 2021 for a number of
rivers
 manage water bodies based on
river basins
 involve the public
 streamline legislation

3. Targets

4. Projected cost of measures

5. Projected cost of measures by Water
Type - National

6. Projected cost of Measures by Sector -
National

7. Water Framework Directive (WFD)
4 main strategies
Classification
Characterisation Process
Monitoring
River Basin Management
Plans

8. Water Framework Directive

9. Fingals Rivers
• Of Fingals 23 rivers:
17 are classified as risk
3 are classified under
review
• Pressures include
– Sewage treatment
– Urban Runoff
– Fertiliser Application
– Erosion of river banks
– Abstraction

10. What are Fingal Doing
• Improving water
infrastructure
• Septic tank inspections
• Agriculture inspections
• Licencing and
inspections
• Surface water
monitoring

11. Surface Water Monitoring
• Operational (Statutory) &
routine monitoring(Non-
Statutory) data is available
since 2010.
• Monitoring data includes 8
pollutants.
• Assessment of baseline
concentrations, current and
seasonal trends.
• Identification of pressures
using land use data.

12. Annual Trends
• Why is Phosphorus
important?
• Phosphate Sources
• Annual trend across all
of Fingal catchment.
• WFD limit 0.00
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.10
0.12
0.14
0.16
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Average Phosphorus (mg/L)
Concentration
Limit

13. Frequency Analysis
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
0.01 0.035 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.5 1 5
NumberofSamples
Phosphates 2015

14. Compare baseline data to current data

15. Inter-annual Change

16. Seasonal Trend

17. Frequency
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.50 1.00 10.00 50.00
NumberofSamples
mg/L
Summer Phosphates

18. Seasonal Trend

19. Seasonal Trend

20. Pressures

21. Pressures

22. Benefits of Analysis
• Indicates if pollutant
concentrations are
increasing or decreasing
• Provides insights into
seasonal emission
patterns
• Provides information on
the spatial pattern of
pollutant concentrations
• Land use characteristics
can be examined to
identify potential
pressures

23. Meeting Obligations
• Monitoring
• Licencing and Enforcement
 Identification of substances that are present in the aquatic
environment above their natural levels
 Identification significant changes or trends that may be evident in
water bodies over time
 Identification of pressures placed on the aquatic system that may be
resultant of long or short term developments
 Focused monitoring programs can help target the source of a
pressure
 Review of chemical monitoring data can also be used to determine
the relative success of applied measures
 Use to identifying diffuse, point and episodic pollutant
sources
 Can be used to inform licencing decisions (e.g. pollutant
limits)
 More targets enforcement (e.g. determine best
investigative measures ranging from septic tank inspections
misconnection investigations or agricultural inspections)

24. Inform on mitigation strategies
• Informs on where to
target mitigation
measures
• Types of measures to
use
Floating Treatment
wetlands
Hedgerows?
Improved water
treatment
Enforcement
Educational Awareness

25. Conclusion
• Analysis is an important step in
monitoring, enforcement and
mitigation
• It can be used to identify sectors
which are contributing most to
water pollution and therefore
inform on policy
• It can be used to assess the
impact of the program of
measures implemented under
the WFD
• It can also be used to identify
vulnerable areas within Fingal
based on soil type and hydrology
• Resource & Staff efficiency