Upper Ballinderry River. Image source: DAERA Northern Ireland has failed to make any significant progress towards its river basin water quality targets over the last six years, a new draft plan to manage the region’s river basins has revealed. The draft third-cycle River Basin Management Plan published today (April 19) explained the status of the region’s water bodies has remained virtually unchanged since the last plan was published in 2015. The management plan covers all of the region’s water bodies, including rivers, lakes, coastal and groundwater, and will cover a six-year period from the start of 2022 to the end of 2027.