The largest lake in Ireland is dying
August 28, 2024 9:56 AM Subscribe
Toxic blue green algae have strangled Lough Neagh here in the North of Ireland - it's our largest body of water and a primary source of drinking water. Stephen Reid, who usually vlogs about outdoor gear, has put together an in-depth YouTube video documenting the spread of the algae, its causes, and the history to how it has gotten so bad.
Thank you for posting this. The conclusion that it would still take 40 years for the lake to recover even if all sewage and effluent stopped flowing into the lake today is upsetting. I just saw this study from US scientists about how a surprising amount of phosphorus in rivers is coming from historical phosphorus, in other words, not the fertilizer being spread on fields this year, but decades old phosphorus.
Stackpoole: We documented that historical phosphorus was a source of river phosphorus at 49 of 143 sites. The agricultural balances at these sites showed us that older legacy phosphorus sources, probably manure and fertilizer inputs from the 1980s, were still having an effect today as a source of river phosphorus.posted by spamandkimchi at 10:34 AM on August 28, 2024 [6 favorites]
Q: Did you see any indication that current conservation efforts are working?
Stackpoole: Yes, there is some good news in our story. At 43 river sites, where the agricultural balance has decreased over time, the water quality improved.
That stuff is nothing to mess around with.
Finland has the highest national rate of Parkinson’s, and possibly ALS as well though I don’t remember that for sure, and it’s generally attributed to the toxic algae in all those lakes. Guam also has very high rates of both those diseases and in Guam's case it’s attributed to the blue green algae which are symbionts of the cycads that grow there.
posted by jamjam at 10:43 AM on August 28, 2024 [6 favorites]
Finland has the highest national rate of Parkinson’s, and possibly ALS as well though I don’t remember that for sure, and it’s generally attributed to the toxic algae in all those lakes. Guam also has very high rates of both those diseases and in Guam's case it’s attributed to the blue green algae which are symbionts of the cycads that grow there.
posted by jamjam at 10:43 AM on August 28, 2024 [6 favorites]
Lough Neagh, which supplies more than 40 per cent of Northern Ireland’s drinking water,Wait. WHAT IN THE ABSOLUTE FUCKING FUCK?!?
NI Water said 71 of these storm overflows discharge sewage into Lough Neagh, but none of these have monitors fitted.
Agricultural runoff is bad enough but even fucking animals know not to shit in their fucking drinking water. And they don't even know how badly their water source is fucked up.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 11:53 AM on August 28, 2024 [6 favorites]
→
I'm sure it's absolutely nothing to do with:
WHAT IN THE ABSOLUTE FUCKING FUCK?!?
I'm sure it's absolutely nothing to do with:
- Northern Ireland's political and regulatory structure being completely stagnant over the last few years;
- the entire lough being owned by an absentee English toff, the Earl of Shaftesbury.
I'm pretty sure that every community along the Great Lakes does something similar, although hopefully they're all treating their sewage before releasing it. But in Toronto after heavy rains lots of untreated sewage gets released into the lake as well.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:33 PM on August 28, 2024
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:33 PM on August 28, 2024
You know what's real frustrating about that "we don't have monitoring" comment by NI Water?
While looking to do my own DIY citizen monitoring of the problem - I found the website of a very high quality, internet capable system, that FEATURES N. IRELAND AS THEIR MAJOR CASE STUDY.
I've been emailing a lot of the environmental groups about that page so they can ask NI Water / The Executive who exactly paid for those systems, are they being used, can that data be publicized, etc. Can maybe they fund more of these stations? Maybe train their staff on them?
People keep blaming the Earl, but he just owns the Lough and not the watershed that is collecting all the runoff that feeds it. He's actively talking about handing it back, but only after a lot of pressure, and maybe not for free.
posted by mrzarquon at 1:40 PM on August 28, 2024 [10 favorites]
While looking to do my own DIY citizen monitoring of the problem - I found the website of a very high quality, internet capable system, that FEATURES N. IRELAND AS THEIR MAJOR CASE STUDY.
I've been emailing a lot of the environmental groups about that page so they can ask NI Water / The Executive who exactly paid for those systems, are they being used, can that data be publicized, etc. Can maybe they fund more of these stations? Maybe train their staff on them?
People keep blaming the Earl, but he just owns the Lough and not the watershed that is collecting all the runoff that feeds it. He's actively talking about handing it back, but only after a lot of pressure, and maybe not for free.
posted by mrzarquon at 1:40 PM on August 28, 2024 [10 favorites]
Knowing a great deal about North American Great Lake Erie, hoping for as speedy a recovery for Lough Neagh, or at least some fair management of it
posted by JoeXIII007 at 4:17 PM on August 28, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by JoeXIII007 at 4:17 PM on August 28, 2024 [2 favorites]
Thanks for posting this. Nuts how little about this has made its way to the news over here in Britain.
posted by Dysk at 2:55 AM on August 29, 2024
posted by Dysk at 2:55 AM on August 29, 2024
When the video got to zebra mussels I shrieked like in a horror movie
posted by cendawanita at 3:16 AM on August 29, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by cendawanita at 3:16 AM on August 29, 2024 [1 favorite]
Same island, different jurisdiction. Two of our fields are part of a SAC (special area of conservation) because their East edge is a tributary of Ireland's second longest river. For a couple of years, I used to teach environmental chemistry / water quality at the local Inst.Tech. because nobody else would. So I have an interest. In 2017, another quango was launched: Local Authority Waters Programme LAWP . . . to join the EPA (Envir Protection Agency); Coillte (the forestry semi-state); IFI (Inland Fisheries Ireland); DAFF (Department of Ag and Fish); Teagasc (Ag Research and Advisory service); CoCo (the various county councils) with interest in the quality and regulation of Irish waterways. LAWP were great: I got a life-time supply of their branded post-its, pens, note-books and key-rings by turning up to their public information forums.
At one meeting, one of my down river neighbours complained that, in the last two weeks, both the IFI and the EPA had walked across his field to measure nitrates & phosphate in the water. a) neither agency had contacted him prior b) they were measuring the exact same data. Over the previous two years, Coillte, CoCo and Teagasc had also tromped through the field for similar reasons, because it was between the river and a convenient lay-by on the county road; so everyone got their samples there. When apportioning blame, pls add the lack of inter-governmental joinedy-up thinking to the Earl of Shaftesbury. [TMI]Me bloggin' on the matter[/TMI]
posted by BobTheScientist at 7:25 AM on August 29, 2024 [2 favorites]
At one meeting, one of my down river neighbours complained that, in the last two weeks, both the IFI and the EPA had walked across his field to measure nitrates & phosphate in the water. a) neither agency had contacted him prior b) they were measuring the exact same data. Over the previous two years, Coillte, CoCo and Teagasc had also tromped through the field for similar reasons, because it was between the river and a convenient lay-by on the county road; so everyone got their samples there. When apportioning blame, pls add the lack of inter-governmental joinedy-up thinking to the Earl of Shaftesbury. [TMI]Me bloggin' on the matter[/TMI]
posted by BobTheScientist at 7:25 AM on August 29, 2024 [2 favorites]
Citizen of NI here.
In Northern Ireland, commercial enterprises pay water rates, but repeated attempts to introduce water charges for domestic customers have never made it across the starting line, largely because no political party wants to bring in what would be an unpopular extra tax. (At one point, I recall Westminster using the threat of imposing domestic water rates in NI as a brick bat to bring our recalcitrant politicians back to the negotiating table). So no one wants to pay for water, but water isn’t actually a free resource, as the Lough Neagh situation demonstrates.
The algae in the lough also washes down the rivers to the coast, and has made some of the (very lovely) beaches on the north coast unsafe for the last couple of summers, harming the tourist industry.
The frustrating thing is that the situation with Lough Neagh is a very solvable problem - it just needs proper legislation to be properly enforced. But we’ve had a complete lack of effective government from our local assembly at Stormont for years; it feels like no decisions are ever taken about anything and our politicians spin wheels while problems like this just get worse.
posted by damsel with a dulcimer at 1:59 PM on August 29, 2024 [1 favorite]
In Northern Ireland, commercial enterprises pay water rates, but repeated attempts to introduce water charges for domestic customers have never made it across the starting line, largely because no political party wants to bring in what would be an unpopular extra tax. (At one point, I recall Westminster using the threat of imposing domestic water rates in NI as a brick bat to bring our recalcitrant politicians back to the negotiating table). So no one wants to pay for water, but water isn’t actually a free resource, as the Lough Neagh situation demonstrates.
The algae in the lough also washes down the rivers to the coast, and has made some of the (very lovely) beaches on the north coast unsafe for the last couple of summers, harming the tourist industry.
The frustrating thing is that the situation with Lough Neagh is a very solvable problem - it just needs proper legislation to be properly enforced. But we’ve had a complete lack of effective government from our local assembly at Stormont for years; it feels like no decisions are ever taken about anything and our politicians spin wheels while problems like this just get worse.
posted by damsel with a dulcimer at 1:59 PM on August 29, 2024 [1 favorite]
The fact that this has been known about for decades but happened anyway makes me wonder if it's a bit like a person who takes meds to stay "sane" deciding, after awhile of being "normal" that they don't need their meds at all, having lost sight of the fact their meds are doing their job and Bad Things happen when they stop.
"We don't need to do ______, look at how well it's going! Not even sure why we started doing _____ in the first place." is a very (stupid) human thing to do, whether it's healthcare, environmental protections, legal protections, whatever...
Anyway, very distressing. I hope we can read that in 2064 things have in fact worked out. (Well, I won't be reading that, but many of you might.)
posted by maxwelton at 2:28 PM on August 29, 2024
"We don't need to do ______, look at how well it's going! Not even sure why we started doing _____ in the first place." is a very (stupid) human thing to do, whether it's healthcare, environmental protections, legal protections, whatever...
Anyway, very distressing. I hope we can read that in 2064 things have in fact worked out. (Well, I won't be reading that, but many of you might.)
posted by maxwelton at 2:28 PM on August 29, 2024
In Northern Ireland, commercial enterprises pay water rates, but repeated attempts to introduce water charges for domestic customers have never made it across the starting line
As an American who's been living here for four years now, charging domestic water rates is not going to fix the problem. That lays the groundwork for it being a profitable businesses which then leads to privatization movements. It's a common utility and it should be paid for out of our land rates. Should there be metered tracking of usage so they can find folks who are abusing it? Maybe. But charging for access to water is just a tax on the less fortunate.
As you said, it's really the dysfunctional executive that is the root cause and the fact that we've had more years without a government than with one in the last decade is a big part of it. It doesn't help that one party continuously threatens to collapse the executive if they don't get their way. The Dept for Infrastructure needs to be broken up in a big way and the insane car junkies who don't believe induced demand exists need to be shown the door - maybe then there may be some more money freed up for public services other than "moving more cars around."
posted by mrzarquon at 5:50 AM on August 30, 2024
As an American who's been living here for four years now, charging domestic water rates is not going to fix the problem. That lays the groundwork for it being a profitable businesses which then leads to privatization movements. It's a common utility and it should be paid for out of our land rates. Should there be metered tracking of usage so they can find folks who are abusing it? Maybe. But charging for access to water is just a tax on the less fortunate.
As you said, it's really the dysfunctional executive that is the root cause and the fact that we've had more years without a government than with one in the last decade is a big part of it. It doesn't help that one party continuously threatens to collapse the executive if they don't get their way. The Dept for Infrastructure needs to be broken up in a big way and the insane car junkies who don't believe induced demand exists need to be shown the door - maybe then there may be some more money freed up for public services other than "moving more cars around."
posted by mrzarquon at 5:50 AM on August 30, 2024
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posted by Joeruckus at 10:04 AM on August 28, 2024 [1 favorite]