During this festive season, many dippers will have already braved more than the cold - they’ll have contended with pollution. From increased sewage spills to blue-green algae in Lough Neagh, 2024 has been the year in which we all became aware of the poor state of our water bodies.
As a water user and conservation biologist, I’ve long campaigned against marine and freshwater pollution. From farmland run-off to sewage and extractive industries, nowhere in Britain and Ireland is completely safe, but Northern Ireland is especially bad... Why?
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To start, there is no independent Environmental Protection Agency, acting as an extra pair of eyes to investigate pollution incidents and a host of other environmental issues.
While the Office for Environmental Protection was established in 2021, it doesn’t investigate private companies. This means that Northern Ireland remains the only part of Britain and Ireland with no independent environmental watchdog.
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“The key issue to understand about the atrocious quality of our water, is the failure to regulate the polluters,” argues James Orr, director of Friends of The Earth NI.
“For decades, polluters have been allowed and enabled to treat our waterways as sewers. All the research and evidence points to the need to have an independent regulator.”
It’s in the public interest, he says: “When we protect water, we are protecting not just nature but the health of people.”
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Next, we have the issue of chronic underfunding in public services, particularly NI Water. Much of the sewage infrastructure is outdated or easily overwhelmed, leading to frequent sewage spills outside of the permitted allowance in ‘heavy rainfall’.
In fact, an FOI this year revealed NI Water discharges an estimated 20 million tonnes of sewage each year. Earlier this month, the organisation was fined after being found guilty of a pollution offence, after “grey and malodorous” liquid entered Ballybannon River at Annsborough, Co Down.
Nor do the public have access to live event duration monitoring data to alert us of pollution incidents. The only information currently available runs off inaccurate prediction models at six locations across NI, meaning water users continue to risk their health.
While NI Water may not have the funds from the Department for Infrastructure to upgrade the whole sewage infrastructure network at this very moment, surely the least they could do is provide water-users the information to make an informed decision before entering the water.
Helen Armstrong, a Surfers Against Sewage representative and member of Helen’s Bay dip club is a regular water user in the Helen’s Bay area of Belfast Lough, where raw sewage is spilled over 200 times per year.
“I’m fed up with the lack of access to critical water quality information. England and Wales provide real-time updates, and Scotland has made sewage discharge data publicly accessible,” she says.
“This lack of transparency is alarming, especially given the frequency of sewage overflows by NI Water that can contaminate our environment. We need action now.”
Helen has started a petition on the issue on behalf of Surfers Against Sewage NI. “I want water users across this island to join me in demanding equal access to real-time water quality data in Northern Ireland,” she says. “It’s time for NI Water to make live spillage data publicly available. We need to protect our right to safe and informed water usage.”
I’m fed up with the lack of access to critical water quality information. England and Wales provide real-time updates, and Scotland has made sewage discharge data publicly accessible. This lack of transparency is alarming
— Helen Armstrong, Surfers Against Sewage
Weak environmental policy is another key issue. For example, agricultural policy still overwhelmingly incentivises intensive operations over nature-friendly practices.
The Statistical Review of Northern Ireland Agriculture shows that 77% of land is used for farming, with most of this being used to house or feed livestock, leading in turn to large areas of land polluting waterways and soil from substances such as slurry and fertiliser.
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This is a prominent driver behind the Lough Neagh crisis, with an excess of phosphates and nitrates leading to the rapid growth of blue-green algae or, cyanobacteria.
While we have a Climate Change Act, Environment Act, Lough Neagh Action Plan, Draft Biodiversity Strategy and many other policy frameworks, it seems little is actively being done to address the systemic, root causes of pollution.
The Water Framework Directive concluded that none of Northern Ireland’s 496 rivers, lakes and coastal waters reach a ‘good’ status, and with 12% of species risking extinction in NI, a Christmas miracle is needed to prevent further strain on our ecological systems and everything that depends on them.
Mary O’Hagan, member of the Ballyronan Bluetits swimming group and the Save Lough Neagh environmental coalition, has seen the crisis unfold firsthand.
“I started swimming in Lough Neagh in October 2020,” she explains. “As the ecological crisis of 2023 began to unfold, I was one of the first to be aware of what was happening.
“I’ve had to stop swimming in the Lough, as I am immunosuppressed, and the water quality represents a very real risk to my health.
“I have no way of knowing what the water quality is actually like on any given day, which is why I’m now swimming at an outdoor water park where the water quality is always excellent.
“The Save Lough Neagh campaign demands an end to commercial sand extraction, urgent investment into research and monitoring of The Lough, and a just transition for all workers.”
She argues that Lough Neagh “must be brought into community ownership”.
While the state of our waterbodies is worrying, there are several things you can do to try and stay safe when planning a dip.
First, avoid swimming 24-48 hours after heavy rain, as the combined (rainfall and sewage) systems are often overwhelmed and spill (though NI Water are known to ‘dry spill’, so always avoid swimming in visibly dirty or stagnant water). You must also not swallow or enter the water with any open wounds, as bacteria and viruses from sewage effluent could be present.
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In the ‘bathing season’ between June 1 and September 15, you can use the Safer Seas and River Service App to see if there are any red warnings in place. If you are a water user in and around the Lough Neagh catchment, since June 2023 there have been several press statements released by Daera, advising people to not enter the water. Like Mary, it may be safer to find another spot.
You could also pressure MLAs about what they are going to do about our water crisis, and whether we’ll get the gift of clean water in 2025.
