WYG Ireland to provide national groundwater data

The international multi-disciplinary consultant WYG Ireland has been contracted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide groundwater quality data to help in the national assessment of Ireland's groundwater.


The monitoring programme has been established to meet the EPA’s requirement under the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/06/EC to monitor groundwater quality throughout the country.

The WFD provides a framework for the protection, improvement and sustainable use of all water bodies in the environment across Europe, from source to sea, including rivers, canals, lakes, estuaries, wetlands, coastal waters and groundwater.

Michael Cunningham, managing director of WYG Environmental & Planning, said: “We are pleased to be part of this project as the sampling and analysis of these groundwater sites will form part of the national database, being used to make decisions at a national level on development and groundwater protection, as

well as having a direct positive influence on water quality in Ireland.”

To meet the WFD’s requirements, the EPA intends to monitor a total of 274 groundwater quality sites throughout Ireland in 2009.

Most of the sites are abstraction points for Public or Group Water Supply Schemes made up of 61 springs and 135 wells. The monitoring network also consists of 59 custom- built monitoring boreholes located within six research catchment areas throughout the country.

Four samples are required at each monitoring site this year. These will be analysed for micro-biological, physio-chemical and chemical determinands.

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