The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) today published the Northern Ireland Water Framework Directive Statistics 2018 Update.
This 2018 statistical report is an update to statistics published in 2015. The report contains summary information on the status of rivers, lakes, and marine waters for the three River Basin Districts in Northern Ireland.
The key points are:
*Â River status: In 2018, 31.3% of 450 river water bodies were classified as ‘high’ or ‘good’ quality, compared to 32.7% in 2015.
* Lake status: In 2018, five of the 21 lake water bodies in Northern Ireland were classified as ‘good’ status and 16 lake water bodies were classified as less than ‘good’ status. This is the same as 2015 classification.
* Marine status: In 2018, 10 of 25 transitional and coastal water bodies were classified at ‘high’ or ‘good’ status and the remaining 15 at ‘moderate or worse’ status. This compares to nine classified at ‘high’ or ‘good’ status in 2015.
