As he holds aloft his revolting catch of the day, he explains that this filthy wipe is a small percentage of the dirty items which have gathered underwater at Derrychara.
When contacted by The Impartial Reporter, NI Water and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) sent staff to investigate the Derrychara stretch of water beside the High School playing fields. They found “no evidence of any sewage spill in the area” but they “are aware” of a wastewater spill from an overflow from a private source.
Erne Angling Club member David Burliegh claimed: “There are absolute skip loads of face wipes, tampons and anything people are flushing down the toilet at Derrychara.”
Such was the disgust of English and European anglers who travelled to Fermanagh for the forty-first Fermanagh Classic Fishing Festival last month, the Derrychara waterway was dubbed “tampon city.”
“That’s what the visiting anglers were calling it,” reported Jordan, who won the 2016 Classic.
The 21-year-old electrician, from Lisnaskea added: “It’s very dirty at Derrychara. You hardly get any fish here. It’s been like that as long as I remember but it has got worse in the last 12 months. It casts Fermanagh in a bad light when you look at the amount of money these men are paying to come here to take part in the competition.”
David Burleigh, added: “It is ridiculous in this day and age that a government body is letting this happen.”
He said: “This problem would need to be stopped at source. This pollution has a direct impact on tourism and the local economy in terms of fishermen. It’s not what we want to be promoting in terms of Fermanagh’s lakelands. In conjunction with the oil spill at the back lough last week, it’s not painting a good picture of the Erne waterways.”
Participants in the Classic were down by 30 this year, according to David, who added: “Derrychara is a vital section for us to use and this year it was a complete write off. It was absolutely dire and even the fish don’t want to be there; nobody caught any fish at Derrychara.
David concluded: “From the surface it looks fine but people don’t know what’s underneath. A major clean up is needed because these items which contain polymer and plastics don’t go away. They seem to congregate in that area.”
A NI Water spokesman stated: “NI Water staff, alongside colleagues from NIEA, investigated reports of a sewage spill in Lough Erne, near Derrychara on Tuesday, June 7. No evidence of any sewage spill in the area was found. However, we are aware of a recent wastewater spill in the area resulting from an overflow from a private source. The NIEA are currently investigating this.
“NI Water recognises it has a major role to play in the protection of Lough Erne; however, it is important to highlight that protecting the lough is a responsibility for everyone, including in relation to misconnections to the sewerage system by private developers and householders.”
He urged householders to take note of NI Water’s ‘Dirty Dozen’ campaign which highlights the 12 most common items people are flushing down their toilets and dumping into sewers.
“The leader of the ‘dirty dozen’ is the baby wipe; thousands of these make their way through the sewer system every day, eventually becoming trapped in sewers, pumping stations and treatment works,” he said. “These items get caught in the sewerage network and can lead to blockages in sewers and pumping stations, resulting in pollution. People genuinely don’t realise the damage they are causing when they flush a few cotton buds, sanitary items or wipes down their toilet.
