Rivers of the South and Southeast are still in serious trouble 

An Taisce welcomes the recent report from the EPA which shows that there has been a 10% reduction of nitrogen in our rivers nationally in 2024. However, it’s important to note that levels still remain far too high in the South and Southeast of the country where most derogation farms are located. 

Dr. Elaine McGoff, Head of Advocacy with An Taisce said: 

“Any improvement in water quality is clearly welcome, but when it comes to nitrogen pollution, the South and Southeast is where nitrogen pollution is a really serious ongoing concern. These are the areas which overlap with the most intensive dairy farming in the country and are home to the majority of derogation farms. 

Most of the rivers in the South and Southeast still had nitrogen pollution levels which would impact on the health of our rivers, estuaries and marine waters. Therefore, many rivers, estuaries and coastal waters in these areas will remain significantly polluted unless stronger measures are implemented. 

There were no data provided yet to explain what drove any of the reductions we’re seeing. We know there are many factors that can bring nitrogen levels in rivers down, including weather events. The fact that we see reductions across all regions would indicate that this was driven by something which happened at a national scale, across all land and farm types, and likely can’t be attributed solely to measures implemented predominantly on intensive dairy farms. We need data that show what, if any, of the measures being implemented at the moment are contributing to this reduction and then what stronger measures are needed to fill the huge gap that is still left. 

We’ve now had over a decade of water quality decline, with agriculture being one of the key drivers of that water pollution. While the improvement in nitrogen levels is welcome, what we really need at this point is clear evidence that the measures being put in place by farmers are effective for adequately preventing agricultural nitrogen pollution. I’ve yet to see that evidence, and the nitrogen levels in the rivers of the south and southeast are telling us those rivers and estuaries are still in serious trouble.”