WFD Ground Waterbody Status 2007 - 2012

Category: Environment
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This dataset show status results based on the assessment of groundwater chemical and quantitative figures in Ireland. This is drawn from representative monitoring points selected specifically for the Water Framework Directive (WFD) groundwater monitoring programme.

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Theme Environment
Date released 2010-01-01
Date updated 2017-11-02
Dataset conforms to these standards The INSPIRE Directive or INSPIRE lays down a general framework for a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) for the purposes of European Community environmental policies and policies or activities which may have an impact on the environment.
Rights notes {"no limitations",https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/,license,https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/,license}
Update frequency Other
Language English
Landing page http://gis.epa.ie/geoserver/EPA/wms?service=WMS&version=1.1.0&request=GetMap&layers=EPA:WFD_GWBStatus_20072012&styles=&bbox=20386.549700000323,19619.87450000085,334518.00090000033,459757.56189999916&width=548&height=768&srs=EPSG:29902&format=image%2Fpng
Geographic coverage in GeoJSON format {"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[-10.47472, 51.44555],[-10.47472, 55.37999], [-6.01306, 55.37999], [-6.01306, 51.44555], [-10.47472, 51.44555]]]}
Spatial Reference Systems (SRS) TM65 / Irish Grid (EPSG:29902)
Vertical Extent {"maxVerticalExtent": "1014", "verticalDomainName": "EPSG Projection 5731 - Malin Head height", "minVerticalExtent": "0"}
Provenance information The European Communities Environmental Objectives (Groundwater) Regulations, 2010 define the criteria for groundwater body classification. In order to assess whether these conditions are being met, a series of tests has been prescribed for each of the quality elements defining good (chemical and quantitative) groundwater status. Status assessments are required for all groundwater bodies identified as being at risk of failing one or more objectives of the WFD. The assessments show the impacts of abstraction and pollutants on groundwater at the time of assessment. The groundwater bodies range in size from less than 1 km2 to 1,884 km2 which may be a consequence of the physical setting or the specific management objective. While the water body may be at good status, there can still be localised environmental risks, e.g. where the local pollution impacts on groundwater quality which is not substantial enough to impact on the status of the whole groundwater body. Classification of groundwater bodies differs from that undertaken for surface water bodies, in that the surface water standards relate to ecological status and these standards define the classification boundaries. Groundwater status does not directly assess ecology, but the classification process takes account of the ecological needs of the relevant rivers and terrestrial ecosystems that depend on contributions from groundwater. Another key component of the groundwater classification is assessment of the impact of pollution on the uses (or potential uses) of groundwater from the groundwater body, e.g. for water supply. Five chemical and four quantitative tests have been developed to assess whether the WFD objectives are met. The worst-case classification from the relevant chemical status tests is reported as the overall chemical status for the groundwater body, and the worst-case classification of the quantitative tests is reported as the overall quantitative status for the groundwater body. Tests for assessing chemical status of groundwater include; looking for evidence of saline or other intrusions, exceedances of a range of quality standards and thresholds that would result in failure to achieve the environmental objectives of associated surface waters, groundwaterdependent terrestrial ecosystems, or drinking water protected areas. It also involves looking for evidence of deteriorating trends in quality. Tests for assessing quantitative status of groundwater focus on over-abstraction of groundwater and include; looking for evidence of saline or other intrusions due to change in groundwater levels, impacts on the environmental objectives of associated surface waters and groundwater-dependent terrestrial ecosystems due to alterations in groundwater levels, and assessing water balances to determine whether the available groundwater resource is exceeded by the long-term annual average rate of abstraction. Full details of status tests are available on the Agency’s website10. A groundwater status update was carried out in December 2014 for a number of the main status sub-tests that caused groundwater bodies to be at “Poor Status”, both quantitative and chemical, from the first River Basin Management Plan cycle. Further updates will be made to groundwater body status in 2015 following the completion of a groundwater body boundary review (physical characterisation) and further risk characterisation. EPA WFD groundwater quality data from 2007 to 2012 have generally been used where an update has been carried out, with trends based on data from 2000 to 2012, where available. Where the status update has not been carried out in 2014, the results of the status reported in 2011, based on EPA WFD groundwater quality data from 2003 to 2008, have been taken forward.
Period of time covered (begin) 2010-01-01
Period of time covered (end) 2015-07-16