Batt O'Keeffe
Question:47 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for the Environment if he intends to carry out a national survey of all our inland lakes. [11589/95]
Written Answers. - Inland Lakes Survey.
National reports on the quality of waters are now to be published by the Environmental Protection Agency. Pending the publication by the agency later this year of a report for the period 1991 to 1994, the latest national overview is to be found in Water Quality in Ireland, 1987-1990, published by the Environmental Research Unit in 1992. That report reviewed data generated mainly by local authorities and the ERU and, inter alia, gives details on the condition of 172 lakes. A copy of this report is available in the Oireachtas Library.
Under section 65 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992, the Environmental Protection Agency is required to prepare programmes for monitoring the quality of the environment, including lakes. To this end the agency has drawn up a draft lake water quality monitoring programme which will be discussed with local authorities and other relevant bodies prior to finalisation. It is envisaged that this monitoring programme will make use, inter alia, of remote sensing techniques which have already been employed by the Environmental Protection Agency to monitor the water quality of lakes.