Northern Ireland

Sewage deposited on shoreline at Co Down beauty spot

Sewage on the shoreline near Killough in Co Down
Sewage on the shoreline near Killough in Co Down Sewage on the shoreline near Killough in Co Down

SEWAGE that is usually pumped into the Irish Sea has been deposited on the shoreline at a Co Down beauty spot.

A walker from the coastal village of Killough said they were concerned to find contractors had dug a trench that diverted waste from a nearby water treatment plant onto a pebble beach.

The beach is located on the Lecale Way, a popular public footpath that runs from Killough to St John's Point lighthouse.

According to NI Water, the work is necessary due to a "partial blockage in the outfall pipe from the treatment works causing a surcharge at a manhole in the field".

A spokesperson for NI Water said the blockage was caused "either by stones deposited in the outfall pipe washed in by the sea at high tide/storm conditions or the sewer has partially collapsed".

The company is continuing to investigate the issue a fortnight after it was first alerted to the problem.

It said the discharge being deposited on the beach was "screened and treated sewage that normally flows via the outfall pipe into the sea".

SDLP MLA Colin McGrath said NI Water needed to promptly establish the cause of the blockage and "put in place a sustainable solution that will prevent it from happening again".

"Much of our Lecale coastline is a protected area; it is an area of natural scenic beauty, and to see the sight of treated sewage pumped onto our beautiful shoreline is simply not acceptable," he said.

"There are many people who walk these paths on a regular basis, often with pets or children, and we need to be able to say definitively that they are not being placed in any danger as a result of this."

The SDLP MLA said he found it "improbable and unlikely" that stones washed up at high tide had caused the blockage.

"A collapsed pipe seems more likely and finding the cause of this must be a priority and this will need to be repaired and the rest of the network will need to be investigated to ensure we don’t see this happen again months down the line," he said.

“While the practice of treated sewage being released into the sea is not ideal, we cannot be in the position where it is being pumped onto our shore or onto land."