Water

Bathing Water Quality Reports

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) is a unit within the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) responsible for regulating drinking water quality in Northern Ireland for both public and private supplies.

The Water (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 ensures that the Water Framework Directive (as transposed) and the various supporting pieces of water legislation continue to operate here after 1 January 2021. These supporting regulations are listed at Schedule 2 of The Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017.River Basin Management is a key element in implementing the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017, taking an integrated approach to the protection, improvement and sustainable use of

Information about the Northern Ireland Environment Agency's (NIEA) Water Catchment Unit (WCU) and Water Science and Evidence Unit (WSEU) including guidance and digital datasets, which are available for downloading.

Northern Ireland has been experiencing an increase in blue-green algae blooms. To find out more about blue-green algae, click on the links below.

Information about water pollution management in Northern Ireland including the role of the operations team in relation to pollution prevention, pollution response and enforcement actions. Find out how to report incidents of pollution.

An overview of the types of practices the Pollution Prevention Team provide information on can be found in the sections below.

Welcome to our Water Quality hub. Here you’ll find key information on water quality across Northern Ireland - why it matters so much for nature, our economy and local communities. Learn about the risks of water pollution, such as harmful blue-green algae. You’ll find out how our shared everyday choices and actions can help to improve the quality of our water around us.

A team of expert scientists from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency’s (NIEA) Freshwater Investigations (FI) team works with colleagues in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), playing an important role in the monitoring of blue-green algae blooms in Lough Neagh.

Invasive species are one of the five top reasons for biodiversity loss, as identified by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). They can negatively impact on native species, can transform habitats and threaten whole ecosystems, causing serious problems to the environment and economy.

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency is reminding householders to check that their oil tanks are in a good state of repair before ordering home heating oil. This will help you to protect the environment and reduce the risk of a spillage as it can be costly when things go wrong, particularly if you have to pay for clean up.

Spring and summer bring warmer weather which can have a knock-on impact on domestic oil tanks. The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has some helpful advice for householders to help ensure your oil tank is in a good state of repair. This will not only help to protect the environment and reduce the risk of a spillage, but potentially save householders from some hefty expense as clean-up costs can be considerable if something goes wrong, particularly if you have to pay for the clean-up.

Within the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) a number of specialist teams are working with colleagues from across DAERA and others to improve Northern Ireland’s water quality. Find out more about what they do and how we all have a role to play through our everyday actions.