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University of Ulster to Reveal Health of Northern Ireland`s Lakes and Rivers

April 25, 2002

Assessing the health of our rivers and lakes will be easier and much more accurate from now on - thanks to University of Ulster researchers.

Dr Brian Rippey, from the Universities' School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, has come up with a new method of finding out what state Northern Ireland's rivers and lakes are in, which will allow the most accurate ecological assessment to date.

The new method will put Northern Ireland streaks ahead of any other European countries in working towards the EU Water Framework Directive of 2000, which calls for change in the way fresh water resources are managed.

One of the main aims of the Framework is to improve how rivers and lakes are monitored, there were almost no methods of doing this until now.

Not only will the new method be able to reveal the state of our rivers and lakes here in Northern Ireland, the same model can be transferred to assess rivers and lakes in the Republic of Ireland and eventually in other countries as well.

Dr Rippey said: "Previously the only way to assess the state of rivers and lakes was by measuring the chemical content of water samples, an inaccurate and limited method. This is an ecological method that takes into account the algae, plants and animals living in the lakes and rivers, as well as other factors such as setting, size and altitude.

"The final outcome reveals a much more accurate and fuller assessment of the health of the water, something we have never been able to do before."

"No other country will have as sophisticated methods or accurate results as we will have."

"Using the terms of the EU Framework Directive researchers will then be able to use the results to classify a lake/river as being of good, moderate, poor or bad ecological status. According to the Framework all European fresh water resources should be of good ecological status by the year 2020- that is our next challenge."

Ulster, University of