Rivers

Some 15,445 km of waterways appear on the 1:50,000 Ordnance Survey map of Northern Ireland. Rivers are important natural resources particularly for agriculture, fisheries, recreational use, amenity value and as sources of drinking water. Around 13% of drinking water in NI is abstracted from rivers, and many waterways also support ecological habitats and species of national and international importance.

Some of these uses can threaten the water quality of the rivers on which they depend, and there may be pollution from other activities in the surrounding catchment. Pollution can be from point sources such as industrial or sewage effluent discharges, or can be diffuse such as road or agricultural run-off. Ultimately, the pollution entering rivers can make its way to the marine environment to adversely affect estuarine and coastal water quality.

It is important that rivers are protected from pollution and managed as a sustainable resource for all of the activities that depend on their water quality.

The findings of water and effluent quality monitoring in 2000 are detailed in the EHS report Managing the Water Environment in Northern Ireland 2000 (pdf 2.3 MB).