Avoca river listed as badly polluted

The Avoca river has been listed as one of Ireland’s badly polluted rivers.

The Wicklow river was one of six rivers that was classed as badly polluted in the latest Environmental Protection Agency report.

The EPA said it recorded a continued and unwelcome decline in the number of rivers considered pristine, with just 21 reaching the mark between 2013 and 2015.

That compares to more than 500 in the late 1980s.