1. National Sampling Programme Carol McCarthy, A/Senior Engineer LAWCO/ Kilkenny County Council Environmental Services Training Group Annual Conference 26 th May, 2016

2. Water Framework Directive (WFD), Directive 2000/60/EC Adopted in 2000 Single piece of legislation covering ◦ Rivers ◦ Lakes ◦ Groundwaters ◦ Transitional (estuarine) waters ◦ Coastal waters ◦ Canals

3. Objectives Attainment of good status in water bodies that are of lesser status at present Retaining good status or better where such status exists at present

4. Article 8 (1) Member States shall ensure the establishment of programmes for the monitoring of water status in order to establish a coherent and comprehensive overview of water status within each river basin district

5. National Implementing Regulations European Communities (Water Policy) Regulations 2003 (S.I. No. 722 of 2003) ◦ as amended

6. Article 10 (1) The EPA shall prepare a programme of monitoring of water status in order to provide a coherent and comprehensive overview of water status within each of the seven river basin district in the State in accordance with the Directive The EPA shall specify the public authority or authorities by whom the monitoring is to be carried out

7. Monitoring Programme Sampling Analysis Assessment Reporting

8. Sampling Analysis Assessment Reporting Monitoring Programme

9. ◦ Rivers ◦ Lakes  Operational  Surveillance  Investigative ◦ Groundwater ◦ Transitional (estuarine) waters ◦ Coastal waters WFD Sampling

10. ◦ Rivers ◦ Lakes  Operational  Surveillance  Investigative ◦ Groundwater ◦ Transitional (estuarine) waters ◦ Coastal waters WFD Sampling

11. ◦ Rivers ◦ Lakes  Operational  Surveillance  Investigative ◦ Groundwater ◦ Transitional (estuarine) waters ◦ Coastal waters WFD Sampling

12. Physical Chemical Biological

13. 2015 Sampling Programme Local Authorities had responsibility for sampling and analysis EPA carried out functions on behalf of local authorities in some areas Dublin City Council Other contractor / sharing arrangements

14. 2015 Letter to Local Authorities March 2015 ◦ EPA - greater role in WFD implementation ◦ Assigning itself responsibility for Operational & Surveillance monitoring ◦ No longer in a position to carry out non- WFD LA work – landfills etc. Approach to LAWCO in Aug re sampling ◦ Co-ordination of Local Authorities ◦ CCMA agreement

15. LAWCO Co-ordination Information workshops for LA staff in November 2015 – 5 training centres Training day for staff in December 2015 Scheduling Days in Nov / Dec 2015 Sampling commenced January 2016 Circulation of spreadsheets etc.

16. 2016 sampling programme Bulk of WFD river and lake sampling carried out by LA staff Dublin City Council continues with its own regional sampling and analysis Some large lakes sampled by EPA Some lakes sampled by contractor

17. 4 EPA labs Caroline Bowden Alan Stephens Ray Smith Colman Concannon

18. SURVEILLANCE SAMPLING Approx 180 Rivers and 70 Lakes sites monthly Sampling for general components at all sites Priority Substances sampling for ~ one sixth of the total sites (approximately 40) Miscellaneous additional (freshwater fish, OSPAR etc.)

19. OPERATIONAL SAMPLING 1203 river sites, 5 times pa ( a few exceptions ) 265 lake sites 4-8 times per annum ◦ (215 by LAs) Basic on-site measurements ◦ DO, pH, conductivity, temperature Lakes - mix of boat & shore sampling ◦ Some additional monitoring needed  e.g. depth parameters

20. EPA Laboratories

21. 2016 issues Initial response very successful Some lake sampling issues Organics clarification Meters / field measurements Bottles ◦ Conditioning, preparation and storage of bottles Training H&S Delivery of samples / coolers QA / QC (Audits)

22. Spreadsheet Details

23. 2017 changes Letter to Chief Executives Local Authorities to sample larger lakes Local Authorities to procure contractor for other lakes EPA to move away from verifying field measurements in the lab Explore potential for inter-Authority collaboration ◦ Move towards sharing sampling teams / procurement between local authorities ◦ Investigative monitoring & assessment

24. 5 Regions

25. 2017 Ideal – Economies of Scale Regional sampling teams (5) National procurement of bottles with delivery to 5 regional centres Regional conditioning of bottles ◦ Availability of LA Laboratory / equipment Meters – standardisation / calibration Labelling of bottles / LIMS system Scheduling Training Accreditation

26. Meters

27. Funding In previous Plan cycle, LA was responsible for funding both sampling and analysis EPA now fully funding analysis Cost of funding sampling remains with LA Previous budgets should be retained ◦ Meters ◦ Couriers ◦ H&S ◦ Boat hire

28. 2017 EPA preparing spreadsheet with requirements for next year Rota for some sites will change ◦ Priority sites