Blue-Green Algae - News Update
Blue-Green algae, or cyanobacteria as they are correctly called, have the potential to release toxins and the public is reminded that blue-green algae can be harmful to humans and is highly toxic to animals.
For more information please visit What to do if you think you see Blue-Green Algae.
A revised Inter‑Agency Blue‑Green Algae Monitoring Protocol has been jointly developed by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), the Agri‑Food & Biosciences Institute (AFBI), NI Water, the Food Standards Agency, and the Public Health Agency.
The Protocol describes the integrated approach to monitoring and responding to blue‑green algae, with each organisation contributing to a shared framework. It outlines the collective roles and responsibilities of both organisations and individuals, and describes how different types of waterways are monitored based on their usage. The document also includes the DAERA Response Protocol for surveillance and monitoring and provides an overview of the Bathing Water Monitoring arrangements in place since 2024.
NIEA will continue to investigate report of algal blooms submitted through the incident hotline or the Bloomin’ Algae App, verifying whether blue‑green algae are present. Once a bloom is confirmed, notifications are issued to the reporter, local councils, and other relevant stakeholders, ensuring coordinated communication across all agencies.
Members of the public are encouraged to report suspected blue‑green algal blooms via the Bloomin’ Algae App (available from the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology), by emailing photographs to emergency-pollution@daera-ni.gov.uk, or by phoning the NIEA incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.
Blue-Green Algae Location Viewer Now Interactive
The confirmed locations of blue-green algae in Northern Ireland is now available on an interactive viewer. This user-friendly viewer allows you to check locations you are interested in.
The confirmed locations datasets are updated on a weekly basis, so you are able to check this on a regular basis for any changes in your area.
Blue-Green Algae - Confirmed Locations
NI Bathing Water Quality Dashboard
The NI Bathing Water Quality dashboard provides recent water quality results for the 33 designated bathing waters across Northern Ireland.
Results are updated on a weekly basis unless Temporary Advice Against Bathing is advised. In that case results are uploaded as soon as available.
You can search by bathing water name, location or region, water quality result, or Bathing Water Operator.
Weekly sample results are displayed alongside helpful links, including detailed Bathing Water Profiles for each site. These profiles are designed to help you make informed decisions before entering the water.
NI Bathing Water Quality Dashboard
Lough Neagh Water Quality Dashboard
The Lough Neagh Water Quality Dashboard (step 1 of the Lough Neagh science platform) is now available to access. The online portal provides water quality data in near real time, and is a key focus of Actions 2 and 33 of the DAERA Lough Neagh Report and Action Plan.
The Dashboard enables tracking of harmful algal growth, development and movements.
Access the platform to view and download data from monitoring sites.
It should be noted that all data is collected from a constantly changing natural environment and is non-validated. Data loading may be slow at peak times, especially when displaying longer term data sets.
Lough Neagh Science Platform weblink