AN environmental watchdog has warned of “a very worrying picture” when it comes to water quality in Northern Ireland.
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) scrutinises authorities in England and Northern Ireland.
The body has urged Stormont’s Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to implement “a critical plan” to protect and improve waterways.
It follows widespread reporting of toxic blue-green algae returning across Northern Ireland over the summer.
The OEP reviewed how DAERA and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) were implementing a key piece of legislation - the Water Framework Directive (WFD).
It requires a new River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) from DAERA every six years, with the last due in December 2021.
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Head of the OEP, Natalie Prosser, said there was an “urgent need” for DAERA to catch up.
“Our report finds that although the approach of the WFD NI Regulations is broadly sound, it is not being implemented or delivering as it should for Northern Ireland’s lakes, rivers and coastal waters. This paints a very worrying picture,” she said.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have far to go to see the serious consequences when water quality is neglected, as the ongoing crisis at Lough Neagh shows.”
Ms Prosser said she hoped that DAERA would now accept recommendations from the OEP to speed up the process.
The report states that “some things are getting worse than better,” with only 31% of water surfaces across Northern Ireland in good condition.
This is down 1% from 2015, with a working target for DAERA to have 70% of water bodies in “good status” by 2027.
The OEP said the “failure to implement the WFD NI regulations effectively” means this target is unlikely to be met.
“As things stand, we assess that the 2027 target is likely to be missed by a considerable margin. We also assess that Northern Ireland is not on track to meet the Environmental Objectives in the WFD NI Regulations.
“This failure to meet the 2027 target will then have a detrimental knock-on effect on the Northern Ireland Executive’s other environmental aims, such as the ‘excellent water quality’ goal in the draft Environment Strategy and ‘thriving, resilient and connected nature and wildlife’ goal.”
She added: “There needs to be stronger leadership from the Northern Ireland Executive in implementing the WFD NI Regulations. It must speed up and scale up its efforts to protect and improve its waters.”
DAERA now has three months to report on the matter to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
“This gives DAERA a chance to set out its own view on these issues and any action it intends to take. Once we have seen that response and any further relevant information, we will decide what further steps may need to be taken.”
In a statement, the DAERA Minister Andrew Muir said he would take the review “extremely seriously”.
“We know that, in the past, we have not got the balance right when it comes to policy to protect water quality and we recognise that there is much more work to do,” he said.
“Lough Neagh has been a wake-up call for water quality issues and this report is a timely reminder of the work required, not only across government, but the public and private sectors, including local government, and the wider community.”
He said his department would set out the position on each of the review’s recommendations in due course and provide annual progress updates.
“My officials and I will continue to make sure that our statutory and legislative requirements are given the highest priority.”
