A new €32 million cross-border project aimed at improving water quality in the northwest has been launched on the shores of Lough Erne.

The Water Enhancements through Sustainable Treatment (WEST) project will address water pollution in counties Fermanagh, Tyrone, Leitrim, Sligo, Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal through catchment modelling and sustainable wastewater treatment.

Funded under the PEACEPLUS programme and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), the initiative brings together NI Water and Uisce Éireann to improve the quality of water in Lough Erne, Lough Melvin and Donegal Bay. These areas have been affected by pollution from agriculture, forestry, urban runoff and wastewater discharges.

Working together, both utilities will identify where investment should be made to reduce pollution, regardless of its source. The project will produce two catchment strategies and action plans, supported by detailed modelling and sustainable treatment solutions, for consideration by environmental regulators in both jurisdictions.

Four low-carbon wastewater treatment upgrades will also be carried out in Belleek and Garrison in Northern Ireland, and in Ballybay and Blacklion in the Republic. These will improve services for about 5,000 people, with capacity for an additional 1,000.

The funding comes through the Water Quality Improvement Programme investment area of PEACEPLUS, which supports cross-border cooperation on water management and helps meet the aims of the EU Water Framework Directive.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne said cooperation was essential to protecting and improving water quality.

“The shared approach of this PEACEPLUS-funded project embodies what is needed to improve water quality in a sustainable manner,” he said. “I am also delighted to see nature-based, low-energy wastewater treatment technologies being used. These are common in Europe but have not been trialled on this scale in Ireland before.”

Northern Ireland’s Minister for Infrastructure Liz Kimmins said the WEST project showed the benefits of building strong cross-border relationships. “Through innovative new approaches and upgrades to wastewater treatment, the project will bring benefits to border communities by improving water quality in Lough Erne, Lough Melvin and Donegal Bay,” she said.

SEUPB chief executive Gina McIntyre said the initiative would introduce new cross-border catchment models and strategies not previously trialled on this scale on the island. “A clean, green and accessible environment contributes to people living long, healthy lives and helps create a place where people want to live, visit and invest,” she said.

PEACEPLUS is co-funded by the European Union, the Irish and UK Governments, and the Northern Ireland Executive. Its predecessor, the INTERREG VA programme, invested more than €55 million in water quality improvement projects including Catchment Care, System for Water Quality Monitoring (SWIM), Shared Waters Enhancement and Loughs Legacy (SWELL) and Source to Tap.