Integrated Constructed Wetlands (ICW) working at the landscape scale: The Anne Valley project, Ireland

Availability of clean water in Europe has become a topic of great concern. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is putting pressure on EU Member States to provide water quality of a high standard throughout the Union. An effective way of tackling this problem is to use Integrated Constructed Wetlands (ICWs) at the landscape scale. Over the last 23 years, 15 ICWs have been constructed within the Anne Valley catchment in Waterford, Ireland, to address both point-source and diffuse pollution at the catchment scale. ICWs address a diversity of pollution problems including the treatment of sewage effluent from small villages, wastewater from livestock and waste material from creameries. A series of aerial photographs shows the development of these wetlands within the catchment over time. A catchment scale GIS is currently being developed in Ireland to address the WFD concerns. The integration of ICWs into these catchment models will provide a mechanism for measuring their effectiveness at the landscape scale and for identifying strategic sites for their implementation.