Knowledge and awareness of water quality protection issues within local authorities

Abstract

The EU Water Framework Directive’s (WFD) ambition to achieve good ecological status for waters is an ambitious target due to the complexity of water management governance. Usually, multiple institutions are responsible for water management, often operating within a hierarchical structure, in which each level has different responsibilities. It is essential that knowledge and awareness of plans and policies associated with water management are effectively transferred through the hierarchical structure to the staff responsible for day-to-day activities. This study investigates the level of knowledge and awareness of water quality issues among Local Authority (i.e., local government) staff within Ireland and the extent to which water protection measures are implemented within core functions of local government. There is relatively good knowledge or awareness related to high level issues, including institutions responsible for water management, awareness of WFD and river basin management plans. Knowledge and awareness levels are considerably lower on more specific details, including on water quality status and protection measures being implemented within their jurisdictional areas. Overall, the study suggests that there is considerable scope for improvement in knowledge and awareness, and outlines a series of recommendations to improve priority for water quality protection among Local Authority staff.