Quarterlands Group Submits Detailed Response

Quarterlands Group has submitted a detailed response to DAERA’s Significant Water Management Issues (SWMI) 2025 Consultation, raising concerns regarding wastewater infrastructure, cumulative environmental impact and public health risks within the River Lagan catchment.

The submission focuses on the River Lagan system, the Lagan Valley Regional Park, the Lagan Valley AONB and downstream impacts on Belfast Lough.

The document draws upon more than four years of work by the community group examining planning pressure, wastewater infrastructure, storm overflow data and cumulative environmental effects associated with ongoing development across the catchment.

At the centre

At the centre of the submission is a conclusion that is increasingly difficult to avoid:

The wastewater system across the Lagan catchment is already under significant pressure, large parts of the available data remain incomplete or modelled rather than measured, monitoring is inadequate, cumulative impacts are not being properly assessed, yet development continues to proceed.

The submission argues that the issue is no longer solely environmental, but increasingly one of public health.

It states that where untreated or partially treated wastewater enters rivers, floodwater, local land or public spaces, communities may be exposed to faecal contamination, harmful bacteria and degraded water quality, with implications for public confidence, wellbeing and environmental safety.

Using NI Water’s published storm overflow dataset, Quarterlands Group’s analysis estimates that approximately 1.81 million cubic metres of wastewater is discharged annually within the Lagan Local Management Area. The submission notes that this equates to nearly 3,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools of wastewater each year, or roughly 1,000 tanker lorry loads entering the River Lagan system every day.

Concerns

The response also raises concerns regarding:
• widespread infrastructure classified as “unsatisfactory”
• assets listed as “not modelled”
• receiving waterbodies described as “undefined”
• lack of meaningful cumulative assessment
• absence of effective linkage between upstream pressures and downstream impacts on Belfast Lough
• limited monitoring and transparency surrounding Emergency Relief Overflow events and pumping station failures

A substantial section of the submission focuses on Belfast Lough as the receiving environment for upstream pressures throughout the River Lagan system. The group argues that Belfast Lough cannot be treated separately from the wider catchment and warns that cumulative nutrient loading and wastewater discharge pressures require far greater scrutiny.

Conclusion

Our submission calls for

• catchment-wide assessment rather than fragmented Local Management Areas
• improved real-time monitoring and transparency
• precautionary planning where wastewater capacity remains uncertain
• developer-funded infrastructure upgrades
• legally enforceable infrastructure bonds to prevent communities inheriting long-term infrastructure failures

Quarterlands Group states that private development should not continue to externalise environmental and infrastructure costs onto the public while substantial profits are realised.

The submission has been forwarded to DAERA, elected representatives and other relevant bodies.

Related Documents and Evidence

DAERA SWMI Consultation Documents:
• Annex A – Significant Water Management Issues (SWMI) Report 2025
• Summary of Water Quality and Pressures by Local Management Area
• SWMI 2025 Easy Read Version

NI Water Data:
• NI Water Modelled Storm Overflow Dataset (November 2025)

Quarterlands Group Submission:
• Quarterlands Group Submission – SWMI 2025 (PDF)