Dismay at Quoile River sludge

Dismay at Quoile River sludge

3 May 2017

ANGLERS are blaming the appearance of a film of sludge at the Quoile River in Downpatrick on the town’s sewage treatment plant.

The sludge appeared over the Easter holidays close to an outfall pipe at the Belfast Road sewage plant and while anglers contend the material came from there, Northern Ireland Water has rejected the allegation.

The sludge moved downstream towards the old floodgates and was subsequently dispersed by several heavy showers of rain.

Angler Trevor Love said he noticed the sludge on top of the water after he spotted a flurry of seagull activity in part of the river which borders the treatment plant. He said there was a large patch of sludge and contends there is nowhere else it could have come from other than the sewage facility.

Mr Love claimed the appearance of sludge at this part of the Quoile is “nothing new” and is blaming the river’s poor ecology as the reason for anglers deserting it in numbers.

“I have no doubt that if the area adjacent to the sewage treatment plant was dredged there would be up to 15 feet of sludge below the surface. That’s how bad the problem has been over recent years. Canoeists who use this part of the river will also tell you there is only a small channel they can navigate due to the amount of sludge below the surface,” he continued.

“The Quoile is a course fishery and it is clear it is not being accorded the same attention as some of Northern Ireland’s other designated fishing rivers by the statutory authorities. It would appear the river is not high on anyone’s priority list.”

Mr Love argued there needs to be more equality when it comes to investment in Northern Ireland’s rivers.

He continued: “I know there were several people fishing near the old floodgates on the banks of the Quoile on Easter Tuesday and that when they noticed the sludge floating past them they packed up and went home.

“The appearance of so many seagulls is always a tell-tale sign that there is sewage or sludge in the water and I know what I saw recently. There is no doubt that there was sludge on top of the water.”

Mr Love also issued a fresh appeal to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to invest more money in the Quoile River to address the worryingly low level of stocks which anglers attribute to seals which have been breeding there for almost a decade.

He added: “If the government level of investment in the Quoile was on a power with that spent on rivers in Newry or Fermanagh where major regional and international fishing competitions are held, the seal issue would have been addressed and action taken to address the sludge problem. The Downpatrick river offers much tourism potential which needs to be fully exploited.”

A spokesman for NI Water said he could confirm there was no unauthorised discharge of sludge from the wastewater treatment plant in Downpatrick over the Easter holiday period.

“NI Water staff were in attendance during the Easter period and nothing untoward was observed or reported at any time. NI Water’s telemetry system also has no record of any incidents in the Quoile during this period,” he said.

The spokesman added: “NI Water carefully monitors the discharge from our wastewater treatment facilities and will always take immediate action to prevent a sewage discharge.”