More than £26 million (€32 million) has been awarded to an innovative cross-border project that will tackle water pollution in Counties Fermanagh, Tyrone, Leitrim, Sligo, Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal.
The Water Enhancements through Sustainable Treatment (West) project will see NI Water and Uisce Éireann working to improve water quality in Lough Erne, Lough Melvin, and Donegal Bay – areas of the north-western international river basin district which face toxic pollution issues from agriculture, forestry, urban runoff, and wastewater discharges.
The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), which manages the Peaceplus programme, expects to allocate around 90 per cent of the funding by late spring next year.
Through West, NI Water and Uisce Eireann will work to identify where investment should be made to address pollution.
Outputs from the project will include the development of two strategies and action plans using catchment modelling and sustainable treatment solutions, for acceptance by environmental regulators on both sides of the border.
Additionally, the project will implement four capital wastewater treatment upgrades within Northern Ireland (Belleek and Garrison) and Ireland (Ballybay and Blacklion), to provide improved treatment for at least 5,000 people, with treatment capacity for an additional 1,000.
Beneficiaries of these efforts are expected to include environmental regulators, residents, tourists, the mariculture industry, anglers, surfers, councils, and non-governmental organisations.
The project will be funded under the Water Quality Improvement Programme investment area of the Peaceplus programme.
Stormont’s Minister for Infrastructure John O’Dowd said: “The funding includes capital upgrades at both the Belleek and Garrison sites using new wastewater treatment processes which will benefit the border communities by improving water quality in Lough Erne, Lough Melvin and Donegal Bay.
“Protecting our water courses, investing, and developing robust catchment modelling and sustainable treatment solutions for our water and sewerage systems, will play an important part in enhancing our environment and ensuring it is equipped for the future.
“As we tackle the ongoing climate emergency it is more important than ever that we embrace these innovative and sustainable ways of reducing our carbon footprint.”
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien said: “Communities north and south will greatly benefit from the funding for this important and innovative investment in water quality and wastewater capacity.”
SEUPB chief executive Gina McIntyre said: “Our natural environment is one of our most important assets and continued enhancement and protection is critical to future economic and social development.
“A clean, green and accessible environment makes a major contribution to people having long, active, healthy lives as well as creating a place where people want to live, visit and invest.
“With environmental pressures going beyond borders, the innovative West project considers the entire catchment as a single ecosystem, aiming to promote a greener, lower-carbon environment and decrease threats to local natural habitats.
“Underpinned by a strong collaborative approach, the project will introduce unique cross-border catchment models and strategies which, although common in Europe, have never before been trialled on this scale on the island of Ireland.”
She added: “We are delighted the Peaceplus programme continues to deliver transformational funding at pace, with almost 65 per cent of the programme budget already allocated.
“The response to our funding calls to date has been significant, demonstrating the real need and appetite for the investment targeting the various key investment areas.”
Peaceplus is co-funded by the European Union, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Irish Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive.
