County Waterford, Ireland
Water Pollution
If you see dead fish floating on the river or notice that the water is discoloured and smelly, any one of the following forms of pollution may be the cause:
• Fertilisers - Large amounts of fertiliser or farm waste being drained into a river/stream.
• Industrial Waste - Chemical waste products from industrial processes are sometimes accidentally discharged into rivers. Occasionally poisonous substances are deliberately dumped into rivers, and if you see this so-called 'fly-tipping' going on, take the registration number of the vehicle and if possible the name of the firm. Report the matter to the police who will then take it further.
• Oil - If oil enters a slow-moving river it forms a rainbow-coloured film over the entire surface preventing oxygen from entering the water. On larger stretches of water the oil contaminates the feathers of water birds and when they preen the oil enters the gut and kills them.
All incidents of river pollution should be reported immediately to the Pollution Officer at Waterford County Council giving as much detail as you can: date, time, exact place and precisely what you saw.
Once reported Water Pollution Section staff will investigate any pollution incident and take appropriate action.
This action may include the taking of measures to mitigate the pollution incident, to contain any spilled or dumped matter and to take appropriate action against those responsible. It may include the issuing of verbal or written warnings, the serving of Notices compelling the undertaking of specified actions or prosecutions under the Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts 1977 and 1990.
Water Framework Directive
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC became effective from 22nd December 2000 and was transposed into Irish Law by 2003.
This Directive is considered an umbrella Directive as it brings together all existing Directives and relevant legislation into one comprehensive piece.
The overall objective of the Directive is to prevent deterioration in the status of any waters and achieve at least ‘good status’ by 2015.
It is considered the most significant EU enactment on water management to date. Further information is available at www.wfdireland.ie
Agricultural Water Pollution
The following link is a pdf. document containing advice for reducing agricultural water pollution
