Quoile sampling taking place 24 times every year

Quoile sampling taking place 24 times every year

15 January 2025

AROUND 1.5m cubic metres of treated effluent and stormwater pours into Downpatrick’s Quoile river every year.

But a sampling programme at the waterway – which burst its banks in November 2023 and flooded the town centre causing in excess of £15m in damage – is only carried out 24 times a year which equates to twice monthly.

The news comes as two Stormont ministers have been asked to make public the results of the sampling and details of the so-called discharge consent agreement in operation at the town’s sewage treatment plant which has been agreed by Northern Ireland Water and the Environment Agency.

Department for Infrastructure minister John O’Dowd and his Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs counterpart Andrew Muir have been asked to provide the information by South Down MLA Colin McGrath.

Several weeks ago, he revealed that the river has not been dredged or desilted for over 33 years.

Mr McGrath has also been raising questions with Mr O’Dowd over the operation of the Belfast Road wastewater treatment works which discharges into the Quoile. 

As a result of an Assembly question, Mr McGrath has been told that on average, around 1.5m cubic metres of final treated effluent or storm overflow enters the waterway.

He said it was also confirmed that a self-monitoring sampling programme is in place to test whether the discharges are contaminated, with this only taking place 24 times per year via an agreement with the Environment Agency.

Mr McGrath said he had written to both Mr O’Dowd and Mr Muir seeking further clarity.

“We need to know what have been the results of the sampling over the last number of years and for the Minister for Agriculture to provide clarity on what the discharge consent agreement that is in place between the Environment Agency and NI Water,” he said.

“I believe people in Downpatrick have an inalienable right to know what is going into the Quoile and an assurance that if it is determined that any contaminated effluent does enter the system, measures are put in place to prevent this from happening further.”

Mr McGrath said the ongoing issues with the Environment Agency underscored the need for an independent environmental protection agency.

He said he awaits the ministerial responses to his questions and updating the people of Downpatrick.

Last month, the Assemblyman said he was “shocked” to discover the waterway had not been desilted or dredged in over 30 years, with the DfI minister defending the lack of major maintenance on the basis that routine works are carried out at the Quoile.

Mr O’Dowd said his department’s engineers don’t believe dredging to be an effective measure to alleviate flooding.

Mr McGrath said he could understand that assessment if Downpatrick had not been hit “time and again” by flooding incidents in the 33 years since the river was last dredged and desilted.

He continued: “Traders and residents will know of any number of flooding incidents in the recent past, so that defence simply doesn’t hold up.

“I would question whether these routine works are based on low cost and short termism as opposed to the potentially higher cost and long term rewards of dredging and desilting.”

Mr McGrath added: “We are done talking about addressing the problem afterwards. We want no more floods in our town, no more families forced from their homes and no more businesses threatened with the possibility of closure.

“The DfI Minister must be prepared to set out how that will be done. We need answers, we need action and we need them now.”