Seven local lakes face same fate as Lough Neagh

EPA-report concludes that the seven Irish lakes at risk of harmful algal bloom are all in the Cavan/Monaghan area

Of the seven lakes identified by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in the Republic as of having high potential threat of experiencing harmful algal bloom (HAB), all are in Counties Cavan and Monaghan.

Lough Neagh hit the international headlines in the last two years for the HAB appearing almost as a large blue green oil slick across the surface its huge expanse.

Now the EPA's nationwide study revealed that of 35 lakes assessed across the Republic, 23 are at risk of HAB. Of those, all seven of those deemed most at risk are in the Cavan/Monaghan area. These are Lough Sillan, Lough Ramor, Lough Naglack, Lough Oughter, Lough Egish, Upper Lough Skeagh, and Lough Gowna.

This report comes Cavan in light of two major fish kills in local lakes, and Cavan County Council issuing a public warning to be cautious of algal blooms in local waters: “Due to a combination of prevailing weather conditions and nutrient enrichment, algal blooms, which appear as a green scum, may appear on lakes throughout County Cavan at this time of year.”

While the EPA report identifies climate change and warmer temperatures a cause of the growth of HAB, the key factor is phosphorus.

The analysis of the 'evidence synthesis report', titled the ‘Investigating the likelihood of a Lough Neagh bloom scenario happening in the Republic of Ireland’ states: “Phosphorus loading is often the most significant nutrient issue affecting Irish lakes and therefore a reduction in phosphorus input is usually essential for achieving “good” ecological status”.

It further concludes that “nutrients were one of the significant issues for all but one of the lakes at risk, while agriculture (mainly pastures) was one of the significant pressures for 18 of the 23 lakes found to be at risk.”

Phosphorus is a nutrient found in fertilisers and manure. Rain can wash phosphorus off from pasture land into nearby lakes and rivers.

The report continues, “targeted measures are in place in all catchments of the study lakes, especially for agricultural pollution. However, there is a lack of information about the level of uptake of the measures or the scale of their implementation.”

The authors of the report have a bleak outlook for the problem due to the "high catchment load" from agricultural sources and the "slow rate of change expected" to address these sources. The EPA further predict that future threats that the Irish people cannot control like the climate crisis or the Zebra Mussel invasion will exacerbate the issue.

The Anglo-Celt will have an update on this story with comments from the relevant parties in the coming days.