Case Studies

In response to the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD), CDM implemented an innovative river basin management system (RBMS) for Ireland's Eastern River Basin District. The district, which includes Dublin and 11 surrounding counties, comprises a 2,400-square-mile area. The dynamic system assists authorities in designing equitable and cost-effective water quality improvement programs to comply with the WFD's requirements for good ecological status in all natural surface waters. The system's transparency supports stakeholder involvement, resulting in effective information sharing and decision making.

The system allows users to:

• Establish criteria/tests for water bodies to achieve WFD-compliant water status by 2015.
• Apply criteria/tests to water bodies to determine risk status.
• Address at-risk water bodies by estimating effectiveness and costs of potential improvement measures. 

The system was designed to support WFD water quality objectives with a Web-based, user-friendly environment. Users can access snapshots of environmental pressures, maps and geospatial queries, and water quality monitoring. CDM also created reference materials to help evaluate improvement approaches and foster thoughtful analysis of management alternatives. 

Please visit the Eastern River Basin District Project  Web site for more information about this unique project.

CLIENT: Dublin City Council

LOCATION: Eastern River Basin District, Ireland