A key cross-border project on water quality is set to move forward with €35 million of EU funding.

The Shared Waters Enhancement & Loughs Legacy (SWELL) project, which was launched in L'Derry yesterday, 25 June, looks to enhance wastewater treatment in Carlingford Lough and Lough Foyle. This will involve the construction of new wastewater treatment works as well as upgrades to sewerage networks on both sides of the border to address wastewater pollution.

The four-year scheme will also help develop a unique environmental legacy model that can be used to achieve further improvements in water quality in these shared waters.

NI Water and Irish Water are working in partnership on the project, along with Agri-Food Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Loughs Agency and East Border Region. Match-funding for the project has been provided by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government in Ireland and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland.

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Officially launching the project, Eoghan Murphy, TD, Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government in Ireland, said: "Without safe and reliable water and wastewater infrastructure, social and economic development cannot happen. So I am pleased to be here today to officially launch the SWELL project which will play an important role in improving water quality in Carlingford Lough and Lough Foyle through cross-border partnership working."

Denis McMahon, Permanent Secretary at the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, added: "I am very happy to jointly launch this worthwhile project. The €35m funding will facilitate important work with the Republic of Ireland to improve water quality in both the Foyle and Carlingford catchments. The project will leave a lasting legacy through improved wastewater treatment for our border communities and will develop a new environmental model to help decision and policy makers make the difference in improving water quality."

The unique ecosystem model being developed through SWELL, will link various aspects of environmental modelling such as urban drainage, river, coastal and ecology, undertaken in the catchments of the respective loughs over the lifecycle of the project.

Through extensive investigations and use of innovative modelling techniques, the SWELL ecosystem model will be able to track the pathways of nutrients and contaminants of wastewater, industrial or agricultural sources to determine their impact on the receiving waters. This legacy model will assist the water utilities and regulatory bodies on both sides of the border by identifying best approaches to achieving further improvement of overall water quality in the future.

(CM/JG)