Towards a Liffey Valley Strategy Doc. 1 - Kildare.ie

There is a small stock of wild brown trout in the reservoir. The E.S.B.
annually stock the lake in the Russborough and Tulfaris areas with brown
and rainbow trout averaging over 1lb. Some ferox trout to over 10lb have
been recorded in the Vallymount area.
Upstream of the lakes the Kilbride Anglers Club have a fishery lease from
Ballyvard Bridge to Ballysmuttan Bridge. The river’s upper reaches from
Sally Gap to Pollaphuca Reservoir hold good stocks of very small trout.
Bigger trout found in this stretch have probably moved upstream from the
reservoir.
4.5 CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT
The Three Rivers Project is a recent government initiative based on
developing ctachment based water quality monitoring and management
systems for the Boyne, Liffey and Suir River Catchments. The aim was to
establish a pilot project which would develop management strategies, on a
river catchment spatial level, to reduce organic and nutrient inputs and
prevent pollution to rivers and lakes.
As well as trying to control the input of organic material and nutrients to
water courses the project also identified the negative effects of water
abstractions from river systems including the potentially adverse impacts
upon the hydrometric and ecological functioning of the system.
The River Liffey catchment is the most densely populated catchment in
Ireland. As such it is especially sensitive to abstractions. While the Greater
Dublin Area and the major towns of County Kildare support
approximately 75% of the population in the Liffey Valley, they occupy only
6.6% of the land area within the catchment. Excessive abstraction of water
from this system may reduce the rivers capacity to assimilate discharge
which could lead to detrimental water quality issues. Similarly discharges
from urban storm water systems within these areas can carry significant
nutrient loads particularly in ‘first flush’ run-off after a dry spell where
material has settled. In addition these systems can be contaminated by
sewage effluent through improper connections or overflows from sewage
pumping stations during flood conditions. These systems can also
discharge toxic substances to water courses due to spillage, inappropriate
storage in industrial facilities and illegal dumping.
Agriculture is the predominant landuse in the Liffey catchment, with 75%
occupied by arable lands or pasture. The impacts of agriculture on the
water quality of the River Liffey are associated with diffuse pollution
arising from the inappropriate application of fertilisers, pesticides and
animal manures. Other potential negative impacts of agriculture include
OFFICE OF PUBLIC WORKS ERM IRELAND
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