The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) is an umbrella network of twenty-six of Ireland’s leading environmental groups working together to protect Ireland’s waters by participating in the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Ireland. SWAN is made up of national and local groups with a wide range of specialist and local knowledge and expertise in all areas of Ireland’s aquatic environment. Greater than the sum of our parts, the cooperative work of this network is contributing significantly to achieving real protection for our rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastal and ground waters. From the shores of Lough Swilly to the beaches of Wexford, from our misty estuaries to mountain streams, SWAN groups have been independently championing and defending Ireland’s waters for many years. Now we’ve joined forces, working together at local, national and River Basin District level to ensure that the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive are implemented in the spirit as well as the letter of the law.