The Sheen demonstration catchment is the sub catchment of the Sheen River which rises in the Caha and Knockboy Mountains in South Kerry. It flows North West meeting the well-known Sheen Falls before joining the estuary of the Kenmare River near the town of Kenmare.
This demonstration sub catchment has an area of 100.5 km2. There are four waterbodies that make up the Sheen_SC_010 sub catchment, three of which have been given a high-status objective under the Water Framework Directive. It is important that high status is maintained and that there is no decline in water quality or status. The majority of the sub catchment is at high status and is considered to be not at risk of failing to meet its River Basin Management Plan objective.
The soil type across most of the sub catchment is poorly draining peat and mineral soils, overlying relatively poorly productive bedrock. Better draining soils can be found on the lower slopes and lower lying areas in the river valleys of the Sheen River and its tributaries.
As part of the Waters of LIFE Project, the Sheen River sub catchment has been chosen as a ‘control’ catchment and will be used to explore the protect function. The focus here will be on understanding how high status is currently being maintained and to identify any potential threats to water quality and status through field surveys and monitoring. In this sub catchment, the project will: monitor water quality; monitor land use change and; raise awareness of the importance of high status water bodies.
The Desk Study for the Sheen is available at the following link: