Over 5,000 planned new Derry homes impacted by lack of waste water infrastructure funding

The scale of the water infrastructure upgrades needed across Derry was confirmed at a Council meeting this week, with NI Water stating that around 1.5 million cubic metres of dilute sewage is emptying into Lough Foyle and local watercourses each year.

Three massive housing projects in Derry meanwhile are impacted due to inadequate wastewater infrastructure.

Around 4,000 units affected are associated with H1 and H2 lands, which require completely new wastewater pumping stations and infrastructure. The two stations alone will cost £15m, with possibly additional costs beyond that. Both are also dependent on statutory approvals and funding. Lands for one have been secured from the Department for Communities in the Galliagh area.

A further 931 units in Clooney Road are affected by Strathfoyle siphons capacity issues, with two large sewers underneath the Foyle needing investment totalling £13.5m. The Council was told that these “are going to be extremely difficult to replace”.

The details were shared with the Council’s Governance and Strategic Planning Committee by Dr Gary Curran, Director of Engineering and Sustainability and Dr Stephen Blockwell, Head of Investment Management of NI Water.

The committee was told that in the Culmore catchment area of Derry, of the 63 storm overflows – which are responsible for the sewage spills into the Foyle – 52 (83%) have been classified as ‘unsatisfactory’.

The estimated cost to address the overflow spills has been placed at between £90m and £135m - money, NI Water said, it does not have due to an overall £0.8bn shortfall which they said “puts a halt to wastewater recovery”.

“It is a difficult situation for us to try and manage,” Dr Curran said.

“Like a lot of other departments across Northern Ireland funding is tight, and it is particularly tight for us, but what it means in essence is that we will be unable, through the next 3 to 4 years of our programme, to build out any enhancements in our wastewater infrastructure.

"We will focus any funding that we have on that we will maintain existing assets, if anything breaks we will fix them… and then we will protect the drinking water to ensure that everyone has safe, clean drinking water at all times. Unfortunately that means what is left over is a very, very small amount for any sort of wastewater enhancements."

In terms of the H1 and H2 site ‘areas of constraint’ in the wider Skeoge/ Upper Galliagh/ Buncrana Road areas, Dr Curran urged anyone involved in considering development there "to engage with NI Water at the earliest opportunity”.

"We would advocate that you come speak to us even before planning, so that the developer services team can work with you and potentially there are opportunities within that area to alleviate some of the constraints through developer-led, unfunded solutions.”

“One of the key tools we will use to do that is storm water offsetting, so if there is an opportunity to remove storm water that gets into our combined sewers – and the vast majority of the sewers in around the older part of the city will be combined – if we can remove storm water from that network then that frees up capacity and allows additional foul loud capacity to go into it.”

He said there was an arrangement with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency that if they did that on a zero detriment basis they would agree to the development continuing.

However some other areas there need completely new infrastructure to take flows away, he added, requiring massive investment.

He added that in terms of Derry’s planned university infrastructure expansion - which could also be impacted - from what they had seen, NI Water feel they can make some initial accommodation in regards to this.

The Northern Ireland Enivroment Agency, Derry & Strabane representatives were reminded has previous warned that if waste water aspects are not addressed, “this infrastructure presents a risk to both public health and the environment, consequently failure to invest and improve it, will result in continued deterioration of water quality in Northern Ireland and non-compliance of regulatory standards and requirements”.

Speaking about the funding challenges, Dr Curran said: “We feel as time goes on and we do less work on the wastewater infrastructure that the base maintenance requirements will actually increase and eat into that even more so its quite a difficult picture for us to work with at the minute. We’re looking at ways and means to try and minimise the impact but in essence we have lost just shy of a £billion to put into that wastewater infrastructure.”

However NI Water said that it is fully committed to trying to find some solutions along with developers, and is investigating options for “targeted interventions within our funding limits including flow transfer schemes and strategic storm infrastructure”.

They are also continuing to argue for sustained funding to support development growth and are seeking changes to legislation to allow developers to fund upgrades to Northern Ireland Water assets.

The Council was told such measures “may give some relief for smaller assets” but that this was not the answer for addressing the larger problems.

Committee chair, Sinn Féin Councillor Christopher Jackson said there was an immense housing need.

"The figures presented in your report about 1.5m cubic metres of sewage going into our waterways is alarming, as is the constraints around developing, particularly around housing, and as you alluded at the start, around university expansion.”

"We have huge ambitions as a council to address the housing need, to grow the economy, but we need to work alongside yourselves in relation to doing that and upgrading infrastructure.”

People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin, who had requested the delegation come before the Council, described the funding crisis as “very, very alarming”.

Colr. Harkin warned that in the north “we don’t see any prospect of overarching funding to fix the water infrastructure,” and said NI Water were left effectively “fire-fighting”.

He said people were really confused about what was going on and said the NI Water was saying one thing, that this was about funding, and the Minister saying something different.

"There is a massive housing crisis in Derry. We’ve got more than 6,000 applicants on the housing list. 400 of those houses in The Cashel are social housing from Apex and we desperately want those to come on line.”

Dr Curran said that in terms of H1 and H2 they had been looking at one site for a pumping station but were unable to purchase the land and were looking at alternative sites. “We are doing everything we can to come up with a solution and, indeed, we are working very closely with the developer of houses in that area who has been very proactive. We have a good working relationship with them.

"But at the end of the day there is completely new infrastructure that is required to be built and we need to purchase the land, get the planning, the final designs – and that is only for the new infrastructure. Where it connects to the existing assets, we need to make sure the impact on those existing assets does not worsen any discharges into the receiving watercourses.”

He said NI Water had to walk a ‘tightrope’ between protecting the environment and facilitating economic development.

Colr. Jackson asked about current capacity at H1 and H2. “New infrastructure is required,” Dr Blockwell responded. “We have planning for the site at Lenamore, and we have the land and are expecting a business case to be brought forward for approval in December 2024 to start that investment, and that does come off the back of the Minister’s funding that has come our way.

"But with the Coshquin site we are still trying to purchase the land, or to do a land swap; planning has been objected to so there a few things beyond our control.”

Councillors were told that NI Water was working with Braidwater – the developer behind The Cashel – to source alternative sites for the Coshquin pumping station.

SDLP Colr. Brian Tierney said that he understood the other pumping station for which land has been secured was at Elaghmore Park, in the vicinity of the cul-de-sac area known as the ‘Frying Pan’, with some concerns from residents.

SDLP Colr. Rory Farrell said there were 6,338 people on the social housing waiting list in Derry & Strabane and lack of capacity in terms of water infrastructure was impacting 5,300 new homes being built.

He warned that the homes were “needed, and needed now”.

"The sad reality is the failure to invest in infrastructure in the north west over the years is really, really, really impacting on that.

"Everybody says there has been historic under-investment in NI Water across the north, but it has been particularly stark here in Derry City & Strabane. Since 2015, Derry & Strabane has the third lowest level of investment across all the Council areas in the north.”

"When you look at it as a ‘per head of population’, it’s the second lowest level of investment. It’s been £370 per person. Antrim and Newtonabbey, it’s £650 per person. We’ve had £55m investment. If we got the same amount of investment as Antrim and Newtonabbey it would be £100 million.”

Dr Blockwell said there had been constraints on investment in wastewater, describing it as the “Cinderella” in years past. “It’s a very difficult situation for all,” he said.

DUP Alderman Chelsea Cooke described the extent of the discharge into the Foyle and the scale of the under-investment as “scary to hear”.

Sinn Féin Colr. Jackson asked how the Council area compared to others, and was told it was “probably up there… at the top of that leaderboard” in terms of the number of properties affected.