River Basin Management Plan 2022 – 2027 – Programme of measures to protect and restore our waters

TheWater Framework Directive (WFD) is the primary piece of EU legislation dealing with water quality. It lays down detailed requirements for managing water quality and protecting the natural water environment. It requires member states to implement measures to protect and, where necessary, restore all bodies of water to good status within prescribed timeframes. The River Basin Management Plan 2022 – 2027 must describe programmes of measures which will be implemented to deliver water quality improvements.

Management measures are required to protect and restore natural waters, involving the implementation of eleven existing EU Directives such as the Nitrates Directive and the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.

The Water Framework Directive also introduced new mandatory measures, including the:

• control of water abstractions
• control of engineered alterations to natural waters
• protection of vulnerable catchments from which drinking water is sourced.

In addition to these mandatory measures mentioned above a number of ‘supplementary measures’ to drive water quality improvements and protection are also included:

• enhanced governance and implementation structures
• monitoring and reporting processes
• integrated catchment management plans
• catchment forum

The supplementary measures also included further technical research and development to improve our knowledge of environmental pressures on water and how to address them effectively.

The additional and enhanced measures adopted in the plan, take into account;

• the high level of environmental ambition committed to in the Programme for Government
• quantitative targets for the deployment of measures
• the updated characterisation / risk assessment outcomes
• lessons from the implementation of measures to date
• feedback from a wide range of stakeholders, including feedback during the public consultation.
• the scientific evidence for the purpose of targeting ‘the right measure in the right place’
• the goal of delivering integrated, multiple policy objects for water, biodiversity and climate, wherever possible.
• the evolving governance and implementation structural needs for the next cycle
• the need to increase environmental enforcement and compliance
• opportunities to strengthen links between the WFD and other regulatory processes
• the need to replace outdated and deficient regulatory regimes with more comprehensive, robust and streamlined management regimes.

The characterisation process led by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and supported by a broad range of stakeholders is particularly important for identifying the types and location of risk and impacts on waters. The recent technical advances mean that a more comprehensive, robust and streamlined management regime can now be designed and implemented. We have a clearer view of what mitigation measures are required and where those measures need to be implemented locally to improve the status of natural waters, in other words, ‘putting the right measure in the right place’.

The proposed new and enhanced measures contained in the plan reflect the additional measures considered necessary to deliver the objectives of the WFD in full and to contribute to other environmental priorities including biodiversity and climate mitigation and adaptation (see below for the full list of measures).

Water Action Plan Appendix 2 2024