“Today my office has been called by residents in the Portglenone area regarding the cleanliness of drinking water. Recently the River Bann was affected by blue green algae. However, today I have received calls about drinking water in the area being unclean and undrinkable from businesses and residents.
I have made immediate contact with the Chief Executive of NI Water and asked that they immediately investigate this and confirm the safety and cleanliness of drinking water supply. If necessary they should provide emergency drinking and washing supply to the area.
My constituent Eoghan O’Brien, the owner of Bannside pharmacy stated to my staff member who investigated this “I'm deeply concerned about the blue green algae in Lough Neagh & the River Bann which is a significant threat to health & wellbeing.
One of the most significant advances in public health over this past 100 years has been clean drinking water. 40% of the drinking water in NI comes from Lough Neagh. I was unable to drink my filtered tap water this morning.”
DUP Cllr Tom Gordon the local councillor for the area said. “I have seen the evidence of this blue green algae first-hand, and it is an issue of serious concern for the residents of Portglenone. I have contacted our Council Environmental Health Officers to ensure that they are aware of this bloom within our river network and that action is taken to address this situation.”