South Down MLA Sinead Bradley (SDLP) has called on Infrastructure Minister Chris Hazzard to act to preserve the integrity of the North’s rivers from pollution originating at waste water treatment facilities.
Ms Bradley questioned the Minister in the Assembly today.
She said: “Preserving the integrity and the safety of the North’s rivers is a critical challenge. More and more we hear about significant fish kills as a result of pollution which is entirely avoidable with more stringent environmental and safety controls.
“Only last month we were dealing with a substantial fish kill on the Carrigs River near Murlough Bay and Newcastle. That incident was the result of a chemical leak from a waste water treatment works at Annesborough.
“While chemical leaks can be prevented with better management, what’s more concerning is that NI Water representatives asserted that there are problems with pipework at waste water treatment facilities. We don’t yet know the scale of those problems or what effect that could have on local fish populations at nearby rivers.
“Further complicating this issue, however, is the fact that the Executive bungled the transfer of some responsibilities of the Rivers Agency to the Department of Infrastructure so they remain with the Department of Agriculture. This is a matter that needs to be rectified with new legislation.
“Local people must be assured that our rivers are being robustly protected. I will continue to hold Ministers accountable and ensure that they act to protect our diverse ecological setup.”
