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Project title

Detecting change and assessing effectiveness of measures to protect and restore high status objective rivers

Primary Funding Agency

Environmental Protection Agency

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

n/a

Lead Organisation

Inland Fisheries Ireland

Lead Applicant

Fiona Kelly

Project Abstract

High status is assigned to waterbodies that show no or only minor anthropogenic impacts on physico-chemical, hydromorphological and biological quality elements (Directive 2000/60/EC). Ireland now hosts 2% and 7.4% of the EU’s rivers and lakes classified at high ecological status respectively. However the latest EPA water quality report highlights that the number of high status water bodies in their monitoring programme has fallen from 31.6% in the 1987-1990 period to 18.4% in the 2019-2021 period. Declines in high status sites led to the designation of 319 rivers with a High Status Objective (HSO) in the 2018-2021 management Plan. However, only 43% have achieved the target. The declines are largely due to both diffuse and point source nutrient pollution in addition to habitat degradation. Hydromorphology is considered when assigning high status and has resulted in some river bodies being downgraded to good status. The Waters of Life (WoL) is an EU funded LIFE integrated project which aims to help reverse and halt the loss of these most pristine river water bodies. The WoL project aims to achieve their targets by testing and validating the effectiveness of measures in six demonstration catchments (including one control). The overarching goal of the RESTORE project is to support the Waters of Life project by developing a bespoke monitoring programme to detect change and assess the effectiveness of measures to protect and restore these high status objective river waterbodies in six demonstration catchments. Through the integration of extant data on catchment and stream condition, a desk-based initial assessment, rapid field assessments (gap filling exercise), field sampling methods to assess the status of selected biological and supporting elements and high frequency monitoring using novel instream sensors, we will develop a customised monitoring programme for each demonstration catchment that will provide a suite of KPIs to evaluate the effectiveness of measures introduced. This will inform a wider rollout of a national monitoring programme for high status objective waterbodies. The overall project aim will build on current state of the art scientific approaches to catchment monitoring (including the significant experience of the multi-disciplinary project team), and will be achieved through a range of objectives. The evidence provided by the RESTORE project is essential for the implementation of the EU WFD in Ireland and the deliverables will inform policy and behavioural changes. It will directly support the development of solutions and implementation plans for maintaining and/or improving high status across high status objective (blue dot) catchments in Ireland, as well as the wider river network.

Grant Approved

�839,986.72

Research Hub

Natural Environment

Research Theme

n/a

Start Date

29/09/2023

Initial Projected Completion Date

29/04/2028