Groundwater and wetland management in the Shannon river basin (Ireland)

This paper examined groundwater and wetlands in the Shannon river basin in the context of implementation of the European water framework directive (WFD). The particular wetland example of turloughs (groundwater fed temporary lakes in karst areas) was examined in the context of defining river basin district boundaries and in the delineation of their catchment areas for risk assessment as required by Articles 3 and 5, respectively of WFD. Groundwater dependent terrestrial ecosystems such as turloughs are particularly challenging in terms of delineating their catchment areas for the purposes of risk assessment and implementation of measures. Turloughs are a habitats directive Annex I priority habitat, which occur mainly in Ireland and consequently, many turloughs in Ireland have been designated as special areas of conservation. Better understanding of such complex systems with high degrees of groundwater-surface water interaction will be required to ensure their protection in river basin management plans.