Further improvements in water utility discharges

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has assessed the compliance of Water Utility discharges against regulatory standards and has found that sewage discharges are improving in Northern Ireland.

The Agency today has released the 2008 compliance assessment of discharges made by Northern Ireland Water (NIW), and those companies which carry out wastewater treatment under Public Private Partnership (PPP) contracts.  

The assessment details Water Utility compliance with NIEA and European discharge standards during 2008 and compares it with the Water Utility compliance covering 2004 to 2007.

Since 1 April 2007, with the transfer of responsibility for delivery of water and sewerage services from Water Service to a government owned company, NIW, and its resultant loss of crown immunity, NIEA is now regulating NIW discharges under the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 in the same manner as for any other discharger.

The Agency highlighted that there had been a sustained improvement in compliance of discharges from wastewater treatment works with the compliance increased from 80% in 2004 to 88% in 2008.

Link to the 2008 Water Utility Discharge Compliance Report

Notes to editors:

1. Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), the former Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) is Northern Ireland’s environmental regulator, and is an agency of DOE.
2. NIEA is responsible for regulation of discharges to the water environment from the Water Utility sector.
3. Under the Water (NI) Order 1999 (the Order) NIEA issues consents for discharges from sewage treatment works, as well as industrial discharges.  NIEA is also responsible for responding to pollution incidents, monitoring the chemical and biological quality of the aquatic environment, regulation of effluent discharges and agricultural pollution, pollution prevention advice and education, and the development and implementation of river basin management plans.
4. Northern Ireland Water Limited (NIW), a government owned company, has been responsible for the provision of Water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland from 1 April 2007.Its predecessor the Water Service was an Agency of the Department for Regional Development and as part of central government could not be prosecuted and did not require formal discharge consents under the Order.  Water Service discharges were controlled by a separate but technically similar system of registered standards that were placed on a public register along with compliance information.
5. All media enquiries should be directed to DOE Press Office on 028 9054 0003. Out of office hours, please contact the duty press officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.