Protesters to demand clean drinking water in Belfast march to highlight contamination concerns

Protestors in Belfast are to demand action on the north’s drinking water following contamination fears over raw sewage.

The March for Clean Water event will take place next Sunday, November 3, and is being organised by the Save Lough Neagh group, which has highlighted the ecological crisis facing the one of the north’s largest sources of drinking water.

Lough Neagh provides around 40 percent of homes across NI with tap water, including parts of Belfast.

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In recent months, many households supplied by the lough have reported a foul taste and smell with their supply.

According to figures released in 2021, up to 200,000 tonnes of raw sewage is dumped into the lough’s catchment area annually.

In recent years, Lough Neagh has seen the growth of thick layers of algae covering its surface, with campaigners warning Ireland’s largest body of water is facing biodiversity collapse.

The dumping of sewage has been blamed for around a quarter of the excess nutrients in the catchment area water that feed the cyanobacteria, causing the algal blooms.

NI Water has said “naturally occurring organic compounds” caused by algae levels is behind the smell and taste reported by householders, even after the water goes through a “robust treatment process”, but added: “These organic compounds are not harmful to health and the drinking water is safe to use as normal.”

However, organisers of the upcoming march have said they remain “gravely concerned”.

“Residents around the shores have been reporting discoloured, foul tasting water for months - serious questions need to be asked of both NI Water and Stormont for allowing this situation to escalate into a public health emergency,” a Save Lough Neagh spokesperson said.

“With parts of our sewer network dating back centuries, and new housing developments currently being stalled due to lack of sewage infrastructure, the clear solution is a significant and long-overdue investment in modernising our sewers.”

Earlier this year, the Stormont Executive agreed a new ‘action plan’ to tackle the issues facing Lough Neagh, but some environmentalists have criticised it for failing to go far enough.

Next Sunday’s march, which begins at Writer’s Square at 2pm, will highlight calls for improved water infrastructure funding, an Independent Environmental Protection Agency with the power to punish polluters, and an end to the private ownership of Lough Neagh’s lake bed.