15 th January 2008

1. Meeting the data management and reporting requirements of the WFD A National PerspectiveFiona Lawlor /Deirdre Kirwan 15th January 2008

2. Water Quality and GIS in Ireland, pre WFD • Basic administrative unit in Ireland is the county, which has urban and county wide local authority management • Water quality is monitored by the Irish EPA and Local Authorities • GIS and data management in Local Authorities on a strictly local authority basis

3. River Basin Districts generated for the Article 3 report, as required by the WFD, are hydrological and not administrative boundaries • County Cavan crosses 4 RBDs WFD implementation

4. WFD implementation • Prior the WFD there had been no national GIS project in Ireland at this scale • The EPA generated national Article 3 data, and the surface water body layers to create a set of national standard layers

5. Article 5 reporting • There are 29 large local authorities and 58 smaller urban authorities in the Republic of Ireland • Each has it’s own GIS Officer and GIS systems, with very little national standardisation • Collection and collation of Article 5 data was done by RBD projects, distinct entities employed by Local Authorities

6. Rivers Lakes Coastal Groundwater Transitional Article 5 reporting

7. Article 8 reporting • The EPA worked with stakeholders to generate national monitoring program • Monitoring will be done by different bodies, who will provide the data to a central location

8. Ongoing GIS & Data Management • WFD has spurred generation of a comprehensive national library of data • This must become a “living” library, constantly updated • Local Authorities must be involved on a day to day basis, sharing data they have not previously had to share • How? Provision of a mechanism to share data, initally for monitoring data and eventually for more

9. WFD GIS schema Post Article 8 mechanisms Data Standards

10. RBD WebGIS and EPA site (envision) Post Article 8 mechanisms Data Dissemination

11. Post Article 8 • Data required for WFD reporting is gathered by a large number of bodies. • Individual organisations have been using different methods to store the information. • Issues with data quality; responsibility and management. • Difficult to get quality data in a standard format from all organisations in a timely fashion. • Had to improve the data collection methods used. • Had to improve the reporting functionality available to EPA staff. • Led to development of EDEN; Aquarius and RBD Management System.

12. Local Authorities European Bodies LA Admin Data LA LIMS Data EC EEA EuroStat RBDs RBMS RBDs LIMS Data SEIS WISE EDEN EPA Echelon Framework AQUARIUS Echelon Data Core Intranet Internet MI DEHLG Fisheries EPA LIMS GIS Data Hydrometric Data Biol Q Other EPA apps Public Authorities

13. What is EDEN? EDEN - Environmental Data Exchange Network EDEN is a centralized information exchange for environmental monitoring data. EDEN provides the ability to submit environmental data remotely and to exchange this data with all parties authorised for environmental monitoring.

14. What will it provide? • A manageable, standard and advanced XML approach to environmental information exchange • Enhanced environmental data integration, data sharing and reporting • Reduced overall costs in data exchange • Application of Environmental Data Standards across a broader spectrum of environmental monitoring requirements • A commensurate and measurable increase in the quality of Environmental data • Environmental Data that is readily available via any PC with a browser • Availability of data for local and European reporting. SEIS

15. Phase 1 deliverables • Data model to cover all environmental data supported in Phase 1 – WFD data. • Pre populated location and parameter lists. • Web based application where: • Users can register for one or more than one organisation and provide information on their LIMS installation • Assign view, upload and download permissions to other organisations • Upload data • Download data • Integration with Local Authority LIMS systems. • GIS ready – including feature coding system • Deployment in Q1 2008.

20. Local Authorities European Bodies LA Admin Data LA LIMS Data EC EEA EuroStat RBDs RBMS RBDs LIMS Data SEIS WISE EDEN EPA Echelon Framework AQUARIUS Echelon Data Core Intranet Internet MI DEHLG Fisheries EPA LIMS GIS Data Hydrometric Data Biol Q Other EPA apps Public Authorities

21. Aquarius • EPA’s own system to manage water quality data it generates and receives from other organisations. • Consists of a central database and applications staff use to record information the EPA generates. • Upload and download facility to transfer data to and from EDEN. • Improves access to data for all staff as data is held centrally. • Data is available for reporting to WISE / SEIS. • Data is available for display (EnVision)

22. Local Authorities European Bodies LA Admin Data LA LIMS Data EC EEA EuroStat RBDs RBMS RBDs LIMS Data SEIS WISE EDEN EPA Echelon Framework AQUARIUS Echelon Data Core Intranet Internet MI DEHLG Fisheries EPA LIMS GIS Data Hydrometric Data Biol Q Other EPA apps Public Authorities

23. RBD Management System ERBD engaged a consultant to assist in implementing the WFD in its region. The main tasks in the project were: • Task 1 – Summarize background information • Task 2 – Characterize the waters (rivers, lakes, transitional, coastal, and ground) of the basin in accordance with WFD requirements • Task 3 – Develop a river basin management system (RBMS) that specifically addresses: • 3.1 Hydrologic data collection and monitoring system(s) • 3.2 Geographic information system (GIS) and related information management systems (IMSs) • 3.3 Development of programmes of measures (POMs) to meet water quality objectives • 3.4 Public awareness and consultation • 3.5 Environmental management system (EMS) concepts • Task 4 – Implement the river basin management system • Task 5 – Prepare a river basin management strategy

24. RBD Management System • ISO 14001 provides standard for an Environmental Management System (EMS)

25. RBD Management System – functionality provided Initial Risk Characterisation • PLAN – methods to develop WFD programme of measures (POM) • DO – assign responsibility and schedule each measure • CHECK – using monitoring and other data, verify the POM is achieving its objectives. • reACT - monitor and revise the POM in response to findings from the CHECK phase. Updated Risk Assessment (URA) Select Measures Define Actions & Responsibilities Monitor Actions

27. Explore Map

28. RBD Management System • Implement in ERBD region – Q1 2008. • Implement the system at a national level – date to be decided. • Links to EDEN for national monitoring data.

29. EDEN + EMS + Aquarius • Standards on how data should be exchanged and reported. • Better quality data. • More timely returns to reporting bodies. • Management tools for RBD’s • Easier national and European reporting!

30. Where to go from here • Expand on data being collected/exchanged via EDEN • Continue development of Aquarius • Continue deployment of EMS • WFDIreland website (http://www.wfdireland.ie/) • EPA’s EnVision website (http://maps.epa.ie/)

31. Local Authorities European Bodies LA Admin Data LA LIMS Data EC EEA EuroStat RBDs RBMS RBDs LIMS Data SEIS WISE EDEN EPA Echelon Framework AQUARIUS Echelon Data Core Intranet Internet MI DEHLG Fisheries EPA LIMS GIS Data Hydrometric Data Biol Q Other EPA apps Public Authorities