{"id":812376,"date":"2026-10-24T11:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T11:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/812376\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T11:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T11:32:11","slug":"could-lake-windermeres-3-7bn-sewage-tunnel-be-a-solution-for-lough-neaghs-algae-problems-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/812376\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Lake Windermere\u2019s \u00a33.7bn sewage tunnel be a solution for Lough Neagh\u2019s algae problems? \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Toxic algal blooms caused by sewage pollution are not just a problem in Lough Neagh<\/a>, with campaigners in England suggesting a radical \u00a33.7bn sewage tunnel to save Lake Windermere.<\/a> <\/p>\n

The scheme to preserve the \u201cjewel\u201d of the Lake District would see a 12 mile tunnel built to carry sewage to a state-of-the-art water treatment works and take seven years to complete.<\/p>\n

Backed by the region\u2019s water company, it would also connect thousands of people to a modern sewer network for the first time, create natural drainage and flood reduction schemes to ensure only rainwater ends up in the lake.<\/p>\n

Two options to pay for the huge cost include adding \u00a33 a month onto bills for customers in the region, or an extra 33p on bills across all of England if Lake Windermere is recognised as a national asset.<\/p>\n

\"Mo<\/a>\"Female<\/a><\/p>\n

But could a similar scheme solve Lough Neagh\u2019s problems?<\/p>\n

Gerry Darby is manager of the Lough Neagh Partnership and welcomed the ambition of the Windermere project, but questioned if Northern Ireland had the same foresight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a couple of differences as Windermere wouldn\u2019t be the same scale or volume as Lough Neagh, but the effect and the challenges are still the same,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn one sense I don\u2019t know if a similar scheme would work for Lough Neagh as I\u2019m not an engineer, but at the same time what is definitely needed is more investment in either existing treatment plants flowing into the rivers and the lough or something new and innovative like that tunnel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next problem is who is going to pay for it. In Lake Windermere it would either be paid locally or nationally.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, at our present situation we don\u2019t even have proposals or plans of existing sewage treatment plants.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GerryGerry Darby, manager of the Lough Neagh Partnership at the Lock keepers Cottage in Toome, Co Antrim. PICTURE: PA <\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, we\u2019ve got the political problem of the Stormont Assembly not wanting to introduce local charges and want to pay for things from the existing budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Darby added that \u201cat the very minimum,\u201d it was time to have that debate in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would 100% back the idea that Lough Neagh needs to follow that process in terms of a new engineering solution and a real mature discussion about who is going to pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Giving his own personal view as a resident living near the shore of Lough Neagh in Toome, Mr Darby said he would be prepared to pay extra.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would personally do that, but it\u2019s up to the politicians to make a decision on that for the people of Northern Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Blue-greenBlue-green algae on Lough Neagh near Cookstown in Co Tyrone <\/p>\n

Claire Sugden, Independent MLA for East Derry, told The Irish News the continued deterioration of Lough Neagh was \u201can environmental disgrace\u201d that was getting worse despite \u201cyears of discussion and promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said farmers needed to be supported to make the necessary changes as well as calling for \u201clongstanding failures\u201d in wastewater infrastructure to be addressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther parts of the UK are considering major investment to tackle similar problems, and we should be equally ambitious. <\/p>\n

\u201cHow we fund that investment needs serious consideration, particularly given the pressures on household finances, but we cannot rule out potential solutions simply because they are difficult or expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RawRaw sewage and treated effluent is discharged into Lake Windermere, causing similar toxic algal blooms to Lough Neagh. PICTURE: SAVE WINDERMERE <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Toxic algal blooms caused by sewage pollution are not just a problem in Lough Neagh, with campaigners in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":812377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,248724,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-812376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-lough-neagh","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}