EU-funded SWELL project makes positive impact on Carlingford Lough and Lough Foyle

​As World Environment Day is celebrated across the globe, a major cross-border project, aimed at improving water quality in Carlingford Lough and Lough Foyle through enhanced wastewater treatment, has been successfully completed with outputs exceeding targets set.
By The Newsroom
Published 11th Jun 2023, 08:00 BST
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Launched in 2019, the Shared Waters Enhancement and Loughs Legacy (SWELL) project was awarded €35m under the EU’s INTERREG VA Programme.

Managed by the Special EU Programmes Body, its aim was to deliver two sewerage network and wastewater treatment projects to improve water quality in the shared transitional waters of Carlingford Lough and Lough Foyle, and provide improved wastewater treatment for an additional 10,000 people.

Match-funding for the project was provided by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in Ireland and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland (DAERA).

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Pictured (left-right are) Barra Best, BBCNI, Pamela Arthurs, CEO, EBR, Ewan Hunter, Head of Fisheries, AFBI, Averil Gannon, DHLGH, Ciarán McGonigle, Director, Aquaculture & Shellfisheries, Loughs Agency, Gina McIntyre, CEO, SEUPB, Paul Harper, Director, Asset Delivery, NI Water, Tracey Teague, Deputy Secretary, Environment, Marine & Fisheries, DAERA, Eleanor Roche, Head of Environmental Regulation & Compliance, Uisce Éireann and Kevin Stewart, DHLGH. Picture: Michael CooperPictured (left-right are) Barra Best, BBCNI, Pamela Arthurs, CEO, EBR, Ewan Hunter, Head of Fisheries, AFBI, Averil Gannon, DHLGH, Ciarán McGonigle, Director, Aquaculture & Shellfisheries, Loughs Agency, Gina McIntyre, CEO, SEUPB, Paul Harper, Director, Asset Delivery, NI Water, Tracey Teague, Deputy Secretary, Environment, Marine & Fisheries, DAERA, Eleanor Roche, Head of Environmental Regulation & Compliance, Uisce Éireann and Kevin Stewart, DHLGH. Picture: Michael Cooper
Pictured (left-right are) Barra Best, BBCNI, Pamela Arthurs, CEO, EBR, Ewan Hunter, Head of Fisheries, AFBI, Averil Gannon, DHLGH, Ciarán McGonigle, Director, Aquaculture & Shellfisheries, Loughs Agency, Gina McIntyre, CEO, SEUPB, Paul Harper, Director, Asset Delivery, NI Water, Tracey Teague, Deputy Secretary, Environment, Marine & Fisheries, DAERA, Eleanor Roche, Head of Environmental Regulation & Compliance, Uisce Éireann and Kevin Stewart, DHLGH. Picture: Michael Cooper

The four-year project – led by NI Water working in partnership with Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water), the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Loughs Agency and East Border Region – also included an extensive water analysis programme and has recently culminated in the development of a suite of unique ecosystem models that can be used to shape further improvements in water quality in these shared waters.

Paul Harper, Director of Asset Delivery at NI Water, said: “NI Water was delighted to lead this strategic EU-funded project which was tasked with delivering improved wastewater treatment for an additional 10,000 people on a cross-border basis.”

He continued: “I am delighted to report that the discharge improvements from the combined SWELL wastewater upgrades are almost double the target set, with the equivalent of over 19,000 more people set to benefit from the investment made.

“The exceptional results in enhanced wastewater effluent on both sides of the border – measured by the end of pipe discharge improvements - are a result of both water utilities working collaboratively to prioritise and align upgrades and to share knowledge and best practice to make the maximum positive impact on the shared waterbodies on the island of Ireland,” Paul added.

Related topics:Northern IrelandNI Water