The SDLP Opposition has called for Executive Ministers to work together to address the crisis at Northern Ireland Water.
It comes after an investigation found raw sewage flowing into Belfast Lough had pushed bacteria beyond legal limits.
SDLP Opposition Infrastructure Spokesperson Mark H Durkan said: “The failure for the Executive to get to grips with the long list of issues facing NI Water is impacting everything from our ability to build much needed homes, to raw sewage and pollutants flowing into our rivers and loughs.
“Despite these clear problems we have an Infrastructure Minister who refuses to acknowledge there is a problem with NI Water’s funding model and an DAERA Minister who was quick to condemn this latest pollution, while failing to take meaningful action.
“We are never going to see the change required at Northern Ireland Water without an acceptance that something has to change.
“It’s clear that the status quo is not fit for purpose and we need to see fundamental changes, not only to the way it is funded, but in how it is run.”
SDLP Opposition DAERA Spokesperson Patsy McGlone said: “It’s galling to hear the DAERA Minister decry this latest incident involving Belfast Lough when he has decided to undertake yet another review instead of introducing an independent Environmental Protection Agency that would actually have robust powers to take action against those responsible.
“The Minister has issued a harsh rebuke to NI Water, but it’s his own department’s failings that mean there will likely be few consequences for this environmental law breaking.
“The SDLP Opposition has also highlighted the lack of a River Basement Management Plan, three years overdue that is a key requirement if we’re going to address freshwater pollution.
“Just today, the department responded to a damning report from the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) which detailed a litany of failings, but still no plan has materialised.
“The OEP was also highly critical of the failure of DAERA and the Department for Infrastructure to work together on these issues and both Ministers clearly have their heads firmly in the sand when it comes for the need for a genuine cross-departmental response.”
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