MEMBER’S UPDATE – 24 July 2015
Loughinisland Waste Water Treatment Works: (WwTW)
A meeting took place on 16 July between Northern Ireland Water (NIW), Northern Ireland Environmental Agency (NIEA), Ulster Angling Federation (UAF) and Downpatrick and District Anglers Association Limited (DDAA) chaired by Margaret Ritchie (MP).
Key areas discussed include:
- Background to what went wrong with Loughinisland WwTW.
- Refurbishment of the WwTW including when it would be fully operational.
- Independent testing of Louginisland Lake commissioned by DDAA.
- On-going maintenance/monitoring of the WwTW & Loughinisland Lake by NIW & NIEA and repairing any damage done.
Following the catastrophic failure of the WwTW in March 2015, refurbishment of the site will commence on 10 August 2015 with completion expected mid September 2015 at a cost of circa £300,000 and once again discharging to the agreed Consent Order.
Independent testing of Louginisland Lake:
Water and sediment samples from the lake were commissioned by DDAA in response to the failure of the WwTW and have been independently tested by McQuillans Envirocare Ltd to the industry standand (UKAS Accredited).
WYG Environment Consultants were then engaged to produced a factual report on the sample results with specifric reference to the quality of the water in our lake. The results have been subject to further independent review by the School of Environmental Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine.
Conclusions:
The Directors are satisfied that the water is clean microbiologically and that there has been no significant evidence of sewage contamination within our lake.
Further investigation is required in order to understand the pressures acting on the lake in relation to the causes of the nutrient enrichment, particularly nitrogen and phosphates, and their impact on the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) & Dissolved Oxygen (DO) levels of our water when compared to the environmental standards set down for the protection of fisheries.
We will continue to focus on the water and sediment nutrient levels within the lake as well as the overall water quality. This will assist our understanding of the root cause and triggers of our algal blooms and help with our on-going management of our water and environment.
Should you have any further questions or queries on any of the above please contact on either:
Noel Taggart: 07950203299 David Woodrow: 07811009876
Or at: ddaaltd@btinternet.com
