Muir says tap water for 60% of Derry taken downstream of Mobuoy dump is rigorously tested for safety

"The safety of drinking water is paramount,” Mr. Muir told MLAs on Monday.

“Safeguarding public health, ensuring safe drinking water and reducing the environmental impact of that crime are, as I said, paramount. My Department is committed, in partnership with Northern Ireland Water, to protecting the water quality of the River Faughan in order to safeguard drinking water in the north-west,” he said.

Water taken from the Cloghole abstraction point downstream of the Mobuoy superdump supplies the drinking water for 60 per cent of Derry’s citizens.

Mr. Muir said water quality is tested on a daily basis at all stages of its progress from the Faughan to the Carmony water works to ensure it is safe for people to drink.

"My officials have put in place a comprehensive environmental monitoring programme at the Mobuoy site. It includes site and riverbank inspections and detailed monitoring using international quality standards for on-site groundwater and surface water, together with daily laboratory testing of water quality at the Northern Ireland Water drinking water extraction point.

“Northern Ireland Water monitors water extracted from the River Faughan, water at various stages of treatment and final water supplied from the Carmoney water treatment works. Monitoring data is shared and interpreted by the NIEA and Northern Ireland Water,” the minister told MLAs.

Drinking water events in Derry area involved pesticide, iron, trihalomethane, discolouration, odour breaches