Northern Ireland Water has admitted that a 'legacy of underfunding' has resulted in more sewage being dumped into lakes and rivers, including Lough NeaghEnvironment CorrespondentNorthern Ireland’s water company has no idea how much untreated sewage is being spilled into Lough Neagh despite major concerns about the health of the UK’s largest freshwater lake.drinking water, turned green last summer due to toxic algae blooms at levels not seen for decades.
Authorities in Northern Ireland have said the water extracted from Lough Neagh remains safe to drink due to the treatment processes it goes through. However, all of these 428 monitors are currently going through a verification process, meaning none are considered to be fully operational. “This is because it was historically cheaper to install more overflows than invest in diverting the rainwater at source and putting in place the larger pipes and holding tanks,” it added.
“We’ve turned our back on the lough and haven’t regarded the lough as a living ecosystem. We’ve just continued to extract from it and continue to dump in it and it’s inevitable that the lough is screaming out to us that it’s had enough,” he said. Despite the concern over the algal blooms last summer, Mr Orr said “nothing has changed” and predicts a similar situation will occur this year.