With contributions by Dakota Reid, Conservation Officer for Planning
“Freshwater, on its journey from the mountains to the sea, has fed and refreshed the natural world - it is the lifeblood of our Wild Isles.” - David Attenborough
Kebble Lough by Ruby Free
Without freshwater, there would be no life.
The backbone of every ecosystem, freshwater underpins our earthly cycles, gives us water for drinking and growing and provides vital habitat for our breeding, foraging and migrating wildlife. Our freshwater habitats are incredible, but they are under threat.
Dipper by Dakota Reid
Poor water quality is threatening our freshwater habitats including rivers, lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands, and the wildlife that depends on them.
As we saw on Wild Isles, an array of species from our short-lived mayflies to our awe-inspiring ospreys, are all struggling from the poor health and quality of our UK freshwater ecosystems.
Atlantic salmon have declined by 70% in just 20 years and many of our freshwater birds such as grey wagtails, kingfishers, great crested grebes and whooper swans are red or amber-listed, meaning that they are of conservation concern.
Freshwater ecosystems face many threats: pollution from chemicals leached from over-exploited farmland or from sewage that has been released into watercourses; physical modifications from flood defence or urban encroachment; barriers created by weirs or dams; invasive non-native species whose geographical displacement we have aided; the over-exploitation of inland fisheries; and droughts from accelerating climate change.
Black darter dragonfly by Dakota Reid
So often the resulting effects are hidden beneath the water surface where the consequences can be out of sight and out of mind. Yet, growing evidence is warning that damage caused to freshwater ecosystems is harming people and nature.
Why are Northern Ireland's rivers in such poor condition?
Agricultural Pollution
Everything is connected. Agricultural pollution is a leading cause of water pollution in Northern Ireland because of run-off from farmland activities such as slurry spraying and pesticide usage. This can be highly damaging to freshwater life as it can eve causee fish kills or make our rivers inhospitable for sensitive species such as freshwater pearl mussels. Data from the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has shown that we are failing to meet our water quality standards and that the largest share of confirmed water pollution incidents came from farms.
Increases in nutrients as a result of agricultural run-off also threatens our peatland habitats. When these are in a healthy state, they are alive with dragonflies, damselflies, water beetles, frogs and unique plant life. But pollution is a major threat to our precious bog wildlife.
Sewage Pollution
Northern Ireland is already the 12th worst region in the world for biodiversity loss and in 2021, no river water bodies achieved good or high overall status in the Water Framework Directive Statistics Report compiled by DAERA. 7 million tonnes of raw sewage a year is discharged into Northern Ireland’s rivers, which threatens both our wildlife and human health. However, with about 100 locations in Northern Ireland’s sewage network currently beyond capacity, our sewage infrastructure urgently requires investment to make it sustainable and fit for purpose.
Cormorant by Ruby Free
On top of farmland and sewage pollution, freshwater ecosystems are having to cope with an increase of plastic pollution. Recently in a study conducted at the QUB Marine Laboratory, microplastics were found in 100% of freshwater bird faecal samples.
To read more about the threats that face freshwater in Northern Ireland read our Troubled Waters Report.
What can we do to turn this around?
We need a transition to sustainable, nature-friendly farming that will avoid the pollution of our waterways currently caused by intensive agriculture. We also need an end to untreated sewage reaching our rivers. And finally, good monitoring and enforcement of the rules that exist to protect our freshwater ecosystems needs to be supplemented by legally binding targets for nature’s restoration.
To find out how you can help #SaveOurWildIsles, click here.