NIEL welcomes Minister Muir’s statement in the Assembly chamber on Tuesday 3^rd March, setting out his plan to strengthen wastewater regulation and enforcement. The minister outlined 8 key interventions that are intended to move the dial on fulfilling legal obligations to improve water quality in NI. In our ‘Step up for Clean Water’ campaign, launched in December 2025, we emphasise the need for urgent action for our water environment, including reducing pollution coming from wastewater systems.

The NI Freshwater Taskforce – a working group of NIEL – has previously welcomed the proposal to create a more mixed toolkit of possible penalties for water pollution offences through the Fisheries and Water Environment Bill. We are optimistic that, coupled with the review of sentencing guidelines for environmental crimes, this will result in a more effective deterrent to polluters. These interventions should be brought forward at pace. We are also pleased that the Minister has highlighted the importance of greater transparency around NI Water’s operational performance, making reference to the installation of event duration monitors across a range of sites. This is a key measure to improve public knowledge of the water crisis, and also an important safety mechanism – particularly where near real-time data is available near bathing sites.

We also welcome the proposal to designate the shellfish water protected area in Belfast Lough as a sensitive area under the Urban Wastewater Treatment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007. In Belfast Lough, we are seeing over 17 million tonnes of sewage and contaminated wastewater released and over 80% of Combined Storm Overflows classified as ‘unsatisfactory’ (see Story of Belfast Lough (2024)). It is clear that urgent action is required to avoid further deterioration. However, we note that the Urban Wastewater Treatment Regulations are now nearly 20 years old, and we recommend that this legislation should be modernised in line with developments in the EU.

NIEL acknowledges, as did the Minister, that some of the suggested interventions will be challenging to implement, such as the proposal to review the standards for discharge consents. However, we must change our current trajectory. Not only is it essential that NI complies with existing legal obligations, but we must also address the ongoing (and intensifying) impacts of poor water quality on our environment, our communities, and our economy.

Dr Bróna McNeill, Area Lead for Water at NI Environment Link commented:

‘The backdrop to Minister Muir’s statement is that NI is experiencing a water quality crisis. At present, none of our surface water bodies are at good overall status under environmental monitoring, and 12% are classified as being at ‘poor’ or ‘bad’ status. Not only are these results concerning as they stand, but this is actually a decline since the previous monitoring cycle. This pattern is replicated in our marine waters, indicating that our seas are also being heavily impacted by water pollution. We must act now. It is heartening to hear the Minister’s commitment to achieving progress, and NIEL is ready to provide support to all Departments to ensure decision-making in this area is both swift and effective. In December we launched our ‘Step up for Clean Water’ campaign, calling  for MLAs to sign our ‘Clean Water Pledge’ to demonstrate their commitment to tackling these issues effectively. Action will be required across departmental portfolios and will require significant investment, coordination, and leadership.’

In his statement, Minister Muir underlined the importance of collective action in tackling water quality issues and of securing engagement from a broad range of stakeholders. We would emphasise that many of the water quality issues we face in NI are, at their foundation, issues related to political decision-making. Hence our call for MLAs to , ‘Step up for Clean Water’. We urge all Departments to commit to tackling the water crisis. In particular, we call on the Department for Infrastructure to work in collaboration with DAERA to develop a statutory (i.e. binding) timetable for upgrading wastewater treatment works and sewerage networks, including storm overflow reductions, and set binding targets for cutting sewage and wastewater pollution. In conjunction, the Executive must agree a clear, funded plan for upgrading water and sewerage infrastructure.

As Robert Walsh from NI Marine Taskforce has highlighted:

‘We must act now to address poor regulation in our wastewater treatment, but this will require the significant funding pressures to be addressed through the Departments of Finance and Infrastructure. We must all Step up for Clean Water across our waterways for nature and society.’

We also note that some of the interventions Minister Muir has outlined, such as ending the SORPI arrangement between NI Water and NIEA, require Executive approval. NIEL has previously written to the Executive Office to highlight concerns around the ongoing delay to key environmental interventions due to the need for executive approval (see letter here). We reiterate these concerns here and press the Executive to action these interventions and turn the tide for our waterways. In particular, the creation of an independent Environment Protection Agency would represent a sea change in our approach to environmental regulation and enforcement and would demonstrate that the entire Executive are taking the health of our waterways – and the wider environment – seriously.