An action plan to tackle pollution in Lough Neagh is not just targeting farmers, MLAs have been told.
Agriculture minister Andrew Muir is “very aware” that NI Water is a contributor to the pollution issues in the lough, a senior official told an Assembly committee.
Catriona Davis, who heads up the Water Management Unit at the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), was responding to questioning from DUP MLA Tom Buchanan during a sitting of the Agriculture committee.
Catriona Davis, head of the Water Management Unit at the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NI Assembly/PA).
Mr Buchanan noted the various initiatives undertaken to monitor slurry usage on farms around the lough as he suggested the majority of the 37 points on the minister’s action plan related to the Agriculture department.
The West Tyrone representative asked if similar attention was being directed at NI Water, which falls under the remit of the Department for Infrastructure.
“I noticed from the actions that the majority of these 37 actions, the majority are attributed to Daera (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs),” he said.
“Yet, you know, Northern Ireland Water is one of the bigger polluters perhaps into the lough and really that needs to be taken on hand and you need to ensure that throughout this whole process that has been dealt with in an effective way.”
Ms Davis responded: “I think the minister is very clear that all sources of pollution have to be considered.
“It’s not targeted to one particular sector. And he would be very aware of the issues that are occurring from NI Water sources as well.”
West Tyrone MLA Tom Buchanan (PA)
The official did acknowledge that NI Water’s plans to upgrade wastewater facilities across Northern Ireland were “tied heavily” to constraints around its budget.
Last week, NI Water announced that a series of planned projects had been stalled due to an inability to secure the required funding from the Department for Infrastructure.
Mr Muir’s action plan was developed in an attempt to deal with the various environmental issues at the lough.
Noxious blooms of blue-green algae covered large parts of the lough during the past two summers and also affected other waterways and beaches in the region.
Lough Neagh, the biggest freshwater lake by surface area in the UK and Ireland, supplies 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water and sustains a major eel-fishing industry.
Nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural fertiliser running off fields and from wastewater treatment is a contributory factor in the blue-green algae blooms.
The spread of the invasive zebra mussel species is also understood to have played a role in the blooms, as they have made the water clearer, allowing more sunlight to penetrate, stimulating more algal photosynthesis.
Climate change is another factor cited, with rising water temperatures.
Patrick Murphy, the chief scientific adviser at Daera, also gave evidence to the committee.
He explained that various environmental factors combined to make the lough’s algae blooms toxic.
He said while it was possible a non-toxic bloom could appear this summer, it was reasonable to assume that any bloom would be toxic.
“On the basis of what’s happened over the last two years, it is reasonable to assume that some form of toxicity will exist,” he said.