Debate contribution: Waste Water Infrastructure: East Belfast

Debate contribution by Mr Peter McReynolds on 11 February 2025.

MLA

Mr Peter McReynolds

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

11 February 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Waste Water Infrastructure: East Belfast

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4793889

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am delighted to have secured today's debate on an issue that affects my constituents in East Belfast specifically but that also affects residents across Belfast and, indeed, Northern Ireland as a whole. As I look around the Chamber, I welcome the attendance of East Belfast and other Belfast MLAs, Committee for Infrastructure colleagues — our Chair is here — and the new Minister for Infrastructure. I take this opportunity to extend my congratulations to the Minister on her new role and thank her for attending the Chamber to give her first remarks on the issue of waste water, and, indeed, on Northern Ireland Water (NIW), a body in which her Department plays a fundamental role through providing annual funding. The call for this Adjournment debate was sparked by correspondence sent to residents in inner East Belfast and elsewhere about the upgrading of Sydenham waste water pumping station under the living with water in Belfast plan that the Department for Infrastructure launched in 2021. The works have been deemed essential to reducing the risk of catastrophic failures of pumping stations and internal property flooding, something that, sadly, my constituents in the Sydenham area of East Belfast have experienced on more than one occasion. The works also aim to decrease the unsatisfactory discharges of storm overflows, to improve water quality and to reduce odours in the Connswater, Knock and Loop rivers, as well as in Belfast lough, thus enabling economic development by unlocking capacity for waste water connections in the area and stimulating job creation. Late last year, however, the Department wrote to Northern Ireland Water to advise that a review had been carried out that concluded that, although the living with water in Belfast plan continued to be needed, its delivery within the original 12-year timescale was no longer achievable. Instead, it should be delivered as normal, and at a scale and pace that is achievable within available budgets. In essence, Northern Ireland Water has been forced to shelve those essential works in Sydenham, much like it had to do for waste water pumping stations at Kinnegar and Whitehouse and across the wider Belfast lough catchment area. At this stage, I ask the Minister for Infrastructure whether she recognises the concern that that decision has caused my constituents, many of whom are being denied home insurance to this day or receiving outrageously high quotes, which will remain the case until the pumping station is delivered.

Sydenham waste water pumping station is the largest and one of the oldest in Northern Ireland, serving 6% of the population. It is also the largest unsatisfactory storm overflow in Northern Ireland, discharging virtually every time it rains. It is a fair assessment that, if we MLAs were to flush our toilets up here while it was raining, many of the contents would not reach Sydenham waste water pumping station but would go straight into Belfast lough. As I have said before in the Chamber, I have always been interested in water policy and how we manage, treat and provide water in Northern Ireland. I studied it as part of my human rights law master's in 2012. I have visited a Northern Ireland waste water and sewage treatment works to see for myself the scale of the operation that Northern Ireland Water undertakes every day to treat water, and I have spoken to residents affected by flooding in East Belfast. We have all known for over a decade that, in many of the key facilities around Belfast lough and contained in the plans that have slowed from lack of investment, our waste water services simply do not have adequate capacity. In 2021, we had a costed, detailed plan to increase sewerage capacity, but, in 2025, despite positive preliminary work, all projects have been paused. Some of the risks have been realised, as my parents experienced with a burst storm overflow pipe in Newtownabbey, north Belfast, roughly 200 metres from their home. The same pipe, along with Sydenham, was in a key piece of footage in a recent 'Spotlight' programme that revealed that the pipe was leaking large quantities of toilet water and human faeces, which was shown lying on a busy Shore Road with cars driving through it. The programme revealed that Northern Ireland Water had recently removed over 100 tons of sewage-related debris from a beach next to Whitehouse waste water treatment works and had had to stop when the removal began to physically change the landscape. So much biodegradable waste was accumulating that it was becoming a structural part of the beach. Another key piece of footage that I ask the Minister and Members to watch is by local film-maker Stephen Reid, whose video showing exactly what types of items created that artificial beach has had almost half a million views. Matted wet wipes, sanitary pads, condoms and underwear were some of the most commonly found items. The fake beach, only metres away from a public towpath, is physical, tangible evidence of the historical and chronic underfunding of Northern Ireland Water and is directly connected to waste water management. What do we do? We have three undeniable options. First, we can take the previous Infrastructure Minister's approach by doing and changing nothing, acknowledging that a problem exists but hoping that it goes away by itself with no departmental interventions. Sticking plasters have been applied; fanciful solutions, such as developer contributions, have been proposed, although no one can tell us what projected impact they might have; and criticisms in the media and in the Chamber that the current model is not fit for purpose have been rejected. Secondly, we can start turning off certain waste water stations to prioritise the functioning of others, but that is unconscionable and should never be on the table in a modern society. Alternatively, we can take a new approach to water management. What we have in place is not working. Northern Ireland Water has acknowledged that it is being held hostage by being funded annually, with limited capital investment restricting it to investing only in smaller drainage and waste water treatment projects. Water treatment and management are not easy or cheap. They are resource-heavy and require consistent planning and investment. Because we have not seen sustained investment in drainage and waste water over the past 20-plus years, the scale of and backlog in the living with water in Belfast programme have increased significantly due to the complexity and number of major projects that are now required. Contractors are being stood down; future projects, such as the one that we are debating, are being reprioritised; and the issues in Sydenham, Whitehouse and Belfast lough are getting worse. At this stage and in that context, I am keen to hear the new Minister's thoughts on whether her Department is supporting Northern Ireland Water to deliver on the aims of the draft Programme for Government (PFG), given its clear connection with housing and the economy. I have regularly highlighted in the Chamber and in the media the fact that neither the Infrastructure Department nor the Infrastructure Committee get the time or respect that they deserve, given their links with everything around us. Planning, water treatment, social homes to address homelessness, environmental protection, economic growth and life itself: the decisions that are made in this area are fundamental to the delivery of them all. When they are not done right, we physically see and feel the impact. We have a new Infrastructure Minister in post. I hope that with that change will come new ideas, new passion and a new approach. I am optimistic that the debate will highlight to the new Minister the importance of her role in that she has the responsibility to effect change on an issue of such magnitude. The Infrastructure role is not just about potholes and street lights; it is about human life, development and progress, and, as I said, it correlates directly with many of the aims and objectives in the draft Programme for Government. It is a cliché, but repeating the same approach over and over again and expecting different results is folly. That is exactly how the waste water issue has been treated historically, and, all the while, the problems have got worse. The stalling of the projects will have a direct impact on the residents of East Belfast, whose homes have been flooded in the past. As I said, human excrement has been documented on the roads, and that same faeces has been documented in Belfast lough, where the water quality is reducing. How much longer can we go on without action to address the fundamental problem that our current arrangements with Northern Ireland Water are not working? Not only is it blocking and restricting development and economic growth, it is putting public health at risk. That is unacceptable, and something has to change. It is evident that our current funding model cannot address the major complexities that we now see in delivering water and waste water infrastructure. For example, during an evidence session with Infrastructure officials last week, the Infrastructure Committee heard that the way in which the living with water programme is managed and delivered will be a matter for Northern Ireland Water to determine, as if the underfunding of that programme would not have a direct impact on those same projects. We go round and round, having the same conversation and expecting a new outcome and no ill effects. What measures is the new Minister willing to explore or provide to address the funding shortfall of the living with water programme in Belfast? I am grateful for the opportunity to bring the matter to the Chamber. I look forward to hearing Members' contributions and the new Minister's thoughts on the matter, which is of significant importance to constituents in East Belfast. One thing is certain: doing nothing is no longer an option.

1,648 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:01 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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