The Rivers Trust has now condemned a proposed policy to dump untreated sewage into Northern Ireland’s waters.
We reported how the plan, “initated” by Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris, is being considered to help the Department for Infrastructure meet his budget cut demands.
If approved, Northern Ireland Water could be forced to stop treating wastewater before it is discharged into rivers and seas to save £35m.
Read more: NI Environment Agency wasn't told about Stormont raw sewage plan
But Stormont ’s Environment Agency told us they were “not advised of proposed policy to stop treating sewage” by DfI and “will take appropriate enforcement action for any non-compliance”.
Now All-Ireland director of leading environmental charity The Rivers Trust, Mark Horton, has weighed in on the scandal.
He said: “The DfI described this plan as unpalatable, but in our expert opinion, it’s unacceptable.
“This move, if implemented, would result in significant pollution and environmental degradation in Northern Ireland and risk transboundary pollution in Ireland.
“It is a false economy to take such a retrograde step,” he added.
“It threatens to undo decades of work and investment that has already gone into cleaning up and trying to protect our freshwater and marine environments.
“It also risks our future ambitions for sustainable healthy growth and freshwater recovery.”
The Department for Infrastructure’s own assessment outlines how the proposed policy will have a negative impact on hospitals, health services, agri-foods, environmental services and council services.
Mark continued: “Nobody wants to see raw sewage in our local rivers as such a move would endanger public health, destroy biodiversity and undermine our local economy.
“We have seen how this model does not work, as last year alone, private water companies discharged raw sewage into English waters over 300,000 times, often resulting in serious pollution incidents for rivers and impacting their users.
“In Northern Ireland, unscreened sewage discharge would also increase the ‘out of sewer flooding’ incidents, which could devastate local businesses and communities.
“We depend on these freshwater sources for our drinking water, for local businesses and housing to develop, for our agri-sector to function, for our tourism sector to thrive and to support biodiversity.
“Our local rivers are already in serious trouble and facing increasing threats.
“In 2021, the Water Framework Directive Statistics Report revealed that none of Northern Ireland’s 496 rivers, lakes and coastal waters achieved a ‘good overall status’ rating for water quality.
“Clean rivers are not just an environmental issue but also a public health matter and an economic driver. Polluted water can lead to a host of human and animal health problems and result in increased water treatment costs to supply clean drinking water.”
The Rivers Trust was also critical of the continual scaremongering and politicisation of funding for water supplies here, saying it stifles informed discussion around the much-needed investment in services essential for human life.
It plans to respond to the DfI consulation, write to the Secretary of State and all political parties about their concerns.
Mark added: “Beyond the immediate negative impact on water quality, discharging unscreened sewage into rivers or the marine environment would see Northern Ireland in breach of multiple international environmental conventions.
“This would undoubtedly result in prosecutions against NI Water and the imposition of future fines at a cost to public finances.
“We are calling on all our politicians to prioritise water and work together to protect our foundational shared natural resources. “Recklessly turning Northern Ireland’s rivers and marine environments into open sewers is not the solution to dealing with a financial and governance crisis that has been in the making for years and is now spilling over due to the current austerity pressures.”
A DfI spokesperson said: “The Department welcomes all views about the potential impacts this would have on public services. It is important we assess the implications of the decisions that would need to be taken and indeed those that cannot be taken to cut funding in the absence of a Minister.”
Its public consultation on this and other proposals closes on August 7 and responses will be “used to inform further mitigation measures and reallocation of any additional funding that may become available during 2023-24”.
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