Derry & Strabane Council seek meeting after ‘alarming’ lakes and rivers report

At Wednesday’s Full Council Meeting, People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin proposed a meeting with representatives, as well as Northern Ireland Audit Office Auditor General, Dorinnia Carville, to discuss the “alarming contents of the report on the water quality of our lakes and rivers”.

“We [recently] had a good discussion with NI Water about their work,” Councillor Harkin said. “But I was very alarmed at the Auditor General’s report published last week about the state of our water ecosystem.

“It’s disappointing to see that none of the targets created through Stormont have been met and our rivers and water quality has got worse.

“This is very alarming and shocking. Since 2015 there has been absolutely no improvement to our rivers, and in terms of our lakes there’s actually been a reversal.

“This speaks volumes to the failure of Stormont to protect our water ecosystem, which is disaster for us and our environment," Colr. Harkin claimed, adding:

“There was also a lack of information about sewage overruns in the North West, and this is also worrying.

“When there’s flooding, sewage runs directly into our rivers and lakes, and this is something we need more knowledge about so we can call for action.

“The Auditor General can take questions from us about the report, and also we should have DAERA representatives.

“Now Stormont is back, there can be no excuses or saying ‘we’ve no Government up and running and we can’t do anything about this'."

“This is something we need action on.”

Andrew Balfour,

Local Democracy Reporter