Improving my Water Quality
Farming plays an important role in the Irish economy and landscape and approximately two-thirds of the Irish land area is in agricultural use. The quality of the water in our rivers, lakes and groundwater needs to improve and farming practices play a key role in this improvement.
Legislation
The Nitrates Directive, implemented by means of the Nitrates Action Programme (NAP), is the key legal agricultural measure in Ireland’s River Basin Management Plan for preventing and reducing water pollution from nutrients arising from agricultural sources. Ireland’s fourth NAP contained in the Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters Regulations 2017 runs from 2018 to 2021.