THERE has been anger and concern for public health in Enniskillen after a blockage led to a significant sewage spill into the River Erne this week.
Residents of Riverside in the county town first noticed the problem on Sunday evening, across from Enniskillen Police Station, when raw human waste and discarded intimate items could be clearly seen floating in the water.
Speaking to the ‘Herald, the residents said they were concerned about the potential health hazard posed by this latest spill, especially during mid-term when many children and young people head to the lough shore to fish.
The problems with Fermanagh’s sewerage system are well documented, with years of under-investment leading to continuous issues.
However, this time the problem was not faulty overflow pipes or excessive rainfall. NI Water has said the problem was caused by householders flushing items that should not be flushed.
“NI Water have tracked the source to a blockage in a nearby sewer caused by large volumes of wet wipes in the sewer. Clean up work continues this morning,” said a spokesman.
“NI Water would like to take this opportunity to remind the public to only flush pee, poo and paper. All other waste should be binned.
“A wastewater drain (sewer) is only designed to take human waste and toilet paper. Other waste can cause blockages leading to out-of-sewer flooding.
“No amount of investment in our sewers will stop out of sewer flooding if additional items are flushed down the toilet rather than put in a bin.”
They added, “NI Water would like to thank the public for their patience as we complete this work.
“We understand the distress and inconvenience flooding from sewers can cause.”
While in this case the issue was unavoidable, according to residents and regular water users, the spill is far from an isolated incident.
As previously reported many times by the ‘Herald, raw waste is regularly pumped into the Erne around the county, usually as a result of much of our sewerage infrastructure working beyond capacity.
Local resident Tony Kersley, who has been angling on the Erne for over 40 years and is a regular boater, said “it’s happening all too often.”
Tony said he was alerted to the latest situation by a fellow boater, Gary McHugh, who sent him the photos to share online to let people know about the problem, as he has quite a large fishing following on social media.
“It’s human waste that’s coming through – there’s condoms, there’s sanitary towels, things people really shouldn’t be putting down the toilet,” he said.
“It needs to be investigated because it happens so many times now.”
Tony added, “This has a massive environmental impact on the fish.
“Youngsters fish along there, you’ve got Portora Rowing Club who have it splash up in their faces – it just should not be happening in this day and age.”
Noting NI Water regularly cites limits to its budget as the reason improvements cannot be made, Tony said “that’s down to the government not giving them enough money to keep the water clean.”
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