Belfast, Northern Ireland – An algal bloom resurgence at Lough Neagh, the biggest freshwater body in the United Kingdom and Ireland, has renewed public debate about its ownership and management.
For months, extensive blue-green algal (cyanobacteria) growths have led to animal deaths, human sickness, temporary beach closures, and the permanent closure of businesses along the lake and connecting waterways. Regional agencies say the summer’s bloom reached “levels not seen since the 1970s”, while lough residents say they were the “worst” they have ever seen.
The contamination has prompted fears about the safety of drinking water in the region and the future survival of key industries at the lough.
Several grassroots initiatives have sprung up in response to the lough’s devastated condition.
There have also been attempts to recall Northern Ireland’s assembly – part of the region’s collapsed power-sharing arrangements, also known as Stormont – to address the ongoing “crisis” at one of Europe’s most important freshwater bodies.
Lough Neagh is the largest freshwater body by surface area in the UK and Ireland, covering nearly 400 square km (154 square miles), an area greater than the size of Malta. It supplies more than 40 percent of Northern Ireland’s drinking water and more than half of its capital city, Belfast.
Source from www.aljazeera.com