About
UCD SWAMP aims to invest in the pressures on Irish waters and develop measures to protect, maintain, and improve water bodies in Ireland.
About SWAMP
- Infographic
SWAMP: Strategies to improve Water quality from Managed Peatlands
90% of original peat soils have been disturbed by peatland drainage—this has led to the deterioration of water quality in affected catchments. It is important now more than ever to understand the pressures on waters arising from drained and extracted peatlands and to develop appropriate regulatory measures and innovative technologies to ensure the status of water bodies is protected, maintained, and improved in accordance with the Water Framework Directive and the Flood Directive. It is crucial to enforce sustainable methods to prevent environmental damage from peat extraction; this includes, water pollution prevention measures as well as peak flow control such as controlled flooding in peatland ditches and flood plains. Ultimately, sustainable and effective watershed management will combine site-specific technological measures to reduce pollutants together with the restoration of previously degraded peatlands and a carefully planned rehabilitation of industrial cutaways or cutovers.
