Lough Neagh algae: Watersports businessman says he does not see water returning to normal in his lifetime

A huge surge in toxic blue-green algae in the lough has been attributed to excess fertiliser, outdated water treatment systems, invasive mussels and climate change.

The lough provides 40% of Northern Ireland's drinking water.

Proposals to clean the lough up from Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir have been rejected by the executive twice in recent weeks, with the DUP reportedly querying proposals for restrictions on agricultural fertilisers.

Rob Skelly enjoying the water from Lough Neagh before the toxic algae became a problem. His watersports business on the Lower Bann has had to be closed for safety reasons.

Rob Skelly ran The Edge Watersports at The Cranagh Activity Centre on the Lower Bann river for 27 years.

It was a passion for waterskiing that he turned into a business after university, and employed 50 people in Coleraine in 2019.

However, last summer the surge in toxic algae closed his business, as it infected the Lower Bann and the northern coastal area it flows out to.

“We were just wiped out last summer and it's not coming back,” he told the News Letter.

“The algae is already back in Lough Neagh, and within three weeks the river will be full of it again. So it's just going to wipe out recreation on the river for summer months, for years to come.

“We have actually closed and my business has gone.

“It is absolutely gut wrenching to have to stop doing what you have spent your life building up.”

While his passion is still watersports, he now earns a living doing freelance camera and audio visual work for events.

“Absolutely nothing has changed since last year in the lough. The only reason that it isn't worse now is because the weather has been quite poor, but as soon as we get a blink of sunshine it will be the same again.”

He said a key factor is the invasive Zebra Mussels, which are prolific in both Lough Erne and Lough Neagh. They filter the water clear and encourage photosynthesis by the toxic algae.

“Pollution is the major reason for the problem. But if the Zebra mussels were there and the pollution was not there, there would be no blue green algae."

He says the only reason the algae is not a problem in Lough Erne is because it is so much deeper the sunlight cannot penetrate to the bottom to stimulate its growth.

"I would love to start my business again but I don't see it happening in my lifetime.

"I was on a zoom call with the Institute of Biosciences, and they said, if they stopped all pollution going into Lough Neagh tomorrow, and there's not a major intervention, it'll take for at least 40 years for the lough to clean itself. So that might only come within my kids lifetime."

The one thing he would like to see done is for investment in NI Water, which he says is responsible for 35% of pollution in the lough, due to sewage. NI Water says it has lobbied for proper investment for many years without success.

Rob believes farm waste from 25,000 farms is responsible for 65% of the pollution, but believes the priority should be for the state sponsored body to fixed.