AQW 17162/22-27


Ms Connie Egan
Alliance Party
North Down


Tabled Date: 22/10/2024
Answered On Date: 06/11/2024
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure (i) for his assessment of The Story of Belfast Lough A Document to Inform Engagement between LWWP Partners; and (ii) to detail any actions his Department will take following publication of the document.


Answer:
The ‘Story of Belfast Lough’ was produced by NI Water and published on its website. The key water quality issues in Belfast Lough, referenced in the document, have been known for some time and are identified in my Department’s Living With Water in Belfast Plan, which was published in November 2021 following public consultation and Executive endorsement.
The NI Water ‘Story of Belfast Lough’ document outlines some of the further work carried out through the Living With Water Programme since 2021. This includes integrated environmental modelling, which was funded by my Department and has been beneficial in identifying the sources of the pollution in Belfast Lough and informing the future design standards for the upgrades needed to the wastewater treatment works that discharge into Belfast Lough.
It has been accepted that delivery of my Department’s Living With Water in Belfast Plan is the optimum solution to addressing the city’s drainage and wastewater infrastructure issues, which will help protect against flooding, enhance the water environment and grow the economy.
It was always acknowledged that additional funding would be required to deliver all aspects of the Belfast Plan within the original 12-year timeframe.  In the New Decade New Approach agreement, published in January 2020, Living With Water was identified as a beneficiary of increased funding, however, this was not received. In 2023, NI Water also increased the cost estimate of its elements of the Belfast Plan by £700m, pushing the overall costs from £1.4 to £2.1 billion.
An affordability review conducted by my Department in response to this increase has concluded that the need for the Belfast Plan continues to exist, however, without the necessary budget, its original timescale is no longer achievable. Delivery of the projects in the Belfast Plan will therefore be taken forward by my Department and NI Water as normal business at a scale and pace achievable within available budgets.
In this financial year, I have provided NI Water with c£0.5billion funding, however, I will continue to make the case for additional funding for water and wastewater services.