logo

About Our Sampling

We sample water to gauge its quality. We look at the chemistry to see if pollutants are present. We look at the underwater invertebrate life to judge water quality by what is able to live in it.

This section presents results of our chemical and biological assessment. We colour-code the results for ease of reading, and we are guided by the criteria used by the EPA in describing levels of water quality. The colours used are:

Bad:

Red

Poor:

Orange

Moderate:

Yellow

Good:

Green

High:

Blue

For biological indicators we use a three-part traffic light code:

Good:

Green

Moderate:

Amber

Poor:

Red

For some indicators we colour code only where safe levels are exceeded, then we code Red.

Our colour codes in more detail:

Citizen Science Stream Index (CSSI) Kick Sampling:

Score +5 to +9: Good - Green

Score -4 to +4: Moderate - Orange

Score -9 to -5: Poor - Red

Dissolved Oxygen:

Less than 6 mg/L:

Poor - Red

Ammonia NH3:

Greater than 0.04 mg/L:

Poor - Red

Nitrite NO2:

Greater than 0.01 mg/L:

Poor - Red

Nitrate NO3:

Less than 4 mg/L: High - Blue

Equals or greater than 4, less than 8 mg/L: Good - Green

Equals or greater than 8, Less than 18 mg/L: Moderate - Yellow

Equals or greater than 18, less than 25 mg/L: Poor - Orange

25 mg/L or higher: Bad - Red

Phosphorus P:

P less than 0.025 mg/L: High - Blue

P equals or greater than 0.025 and less than 0.035 mg/L: Good - Green

P equals or greater than 0.035 and less than 0.05mg/L: Moderate - Yellow

P equals or greater than 0.05 and less than 0.1mg/L: Poor - Orange

P equals or greater than 0.1mg/L: Bad - Red

Sampling

Sampling

Add new samples and manage existing ones.

Locations

Locations

Create and manage the locations for our sample data.

Water Systems

Water Systems

Create and manage the water systems that group our locations together.

Our chemical reference levels for Nitrate NO3 and Phosphorus P correspond to the reporting conventions used in the EPA document Water Quality in 2022: An Indicators Report.

Our biological sampling system, the Citizen Science Stream Index (CSSI) is described at: https://lawaters.ie/citizen-science/

The development and validation of the CSSI is reported at: https://cora.ucc.ie/server/api/core/bitstreams/63d54b7f-9965-43d0-8e30-3b67c6bb1010/content

The levels where we flag Red for dissolved Oxygen, Ammonia NH4 and Nitrite NO2 derive from a directive 2006/44/EC from the EU Parliament and Council, 6 Sept 2006 on the quality of water to support salmonid life.