Help
How to use WaterWatch
Two things to know: how to add what you saw, and how to read the map. Here’s the quick tour.
Reporting
How to observe
- Tap the map where you saw something.
- Hit Observe to start a report.
- Set the location: nudge the pin to the right spot.
- Pick the water body (optional, we try to match it for you).
- Choose what you saw from the issue types.
- Submit. That’s it. Add notes or photos any time later.
Reading the map
How to browse
Ecological status colours
Use the switch at the top of the map to change water view: Open, Bathing or Drinking. The colour key below is for Open water; Bathing and Drinking each have their own scale (see the FAQ).
- High
- Good
- Moderate
- Poor
- Bad
- Unknown
Water is coloured by its WFD ecological status, best to worst, with grey for water we do not have data on yet.
Rivers show their status as the line colour; lakes and coast are filled with it.
Most rivers, lakes and coasts now carry an official EPA WFD status, which is authoritative. Where there is none, the colour is community-derived from citizen observations and is never presented as an official reading. A tapped location's card shows which one it is, and how far the nearest water body is.
On the Bathing view, beaches take citizen reports too. Alongside the EPA-designated bathing waters, the map shows community spots (beaches and swim spots seeded from open data) in grey with no official rating until citizen reports build up.
Not an official EPA WFD status
Source layers
Toggle the Citizen observations and Official monitoring layers to see where each signal is coming from. On Drinking water, only Official monitoring shows.
Near me
Tap Near me to jump the map to water bodies around your current location.
Reporting a drinking-water problem
WaterWatch shows Drinking water as a reference view (EPA monitoring status). It isn’t a reporting channel: a regulated public supply has an operator who owns the real-time response, so drinking-water quality problems should be reported directly to Uisce Éireann (water.ie). Bathing and Open water are different. No single operator owns them in real time, so citizen reports there add signal the official data misses.
Coverage note: the Drinking view shows the public water sources the EPA monitors (designated abstraction rivers, lakes and groundwater). Private wells, about 12% of supplies, are unmonitored and not shown. A source reads “Not flagged” in a neutral slate when it is not on the EPA’s Remedial Action List. That is a regulatory status, not a verified test, so it is never painted a confident green. Supplies on the list show as At risk or Action required. For live boil-water notices, check water.ie.
Conditions & water safety
On a Bathing spot, WaterWatch may show conditions (weather, wind and sea state) to help you judge the day. These are a guide only, never a safety rating, and never a statement that the water is safe to swim. For water-safety advice, local hazards and beach guidance, see Water Safety Ireland. In an emergency call 112 or 999 and ask for the Coast Guard.