Lough Neagh algae crisis: Portglenone pharmacist one of many reporting mouldy drinking water again - pollution and blue green algae 'Cyanobacteria Bacteria' blamed

Toxic blue-green algae covered large parts of the lough last summer and also affected other waterways and beaches in the region.

Stormont officials have blamed excess nitrogen and phosphorus. The pollution has been blamed on outdated sewage treatment systems, corporate factory farms and agricultural fertiliser.

Eoghan O’Brien of Bannside Pharmacy in Portglenone detailed his trials to the News Letter in September last year.

And twelve months later the same problem is plaguing him once again.

He lives in Clady and gets his water there from Lough Neagh, where he finds the tap water currently undrinkable.

But he works a mile away in Portglenone, where the water comes from near Ballymena and is fine to drink.

"When I turned on the hot tap this last couple of days I am getting that kind of musty, moldy smell coming through again," he told the News Letter.

"This last couple of weeks, I've been reverting back to what I had to do this time last year.

"I'm just filling up five litre bottles in the pharmacy and taking them home to drink.

"The same thing happened last year. Nearly overnight, the taste changed. I haven't tried to drink the tap water at home since."

His comments came after the BBC reported that people in Magherafelt, Castledawson, Draperstown, Ballinderry and Cookstown have complained on social media about the issue.

He had extensive correspondence with NI Water last year.

"They came out and tested the water, and they said that the taste and the smell were okay. What sort of taste buds do they have?"

In a statement to the BBC, NI Water said: "This smell and taste is related to algae levels in Lough Neagh and naturally occurring compounds found in beetroot and soil."

But Mr O'Brien said that despite being a pharmacist, the phrase "naturally occurring compounds" is open to "any level of interpretation".

As the News Letter was going to press NI Water said the compounds are “Geosmin and MIB (Methylisoborneol)”.

Last year he noticed that by December his water tasted fine again. Asked if that implies the taste is directly linked to the algae and sunlight he replied: "Absolutely".

He has also noticed the smell especially from hot water when showering.

As a result he is considering buying a special filter to treat all water coming into his home.

NI Water spokesperson, Dymphna Gallagher, told the Nolan Show on Friday: "We can reassure customers of the safety of their drinking water, even though it does taste and it does smell.

"I wouldn't want to drink water that has an earthy and musty taste, but it is safe," she added.

"We have a robust nine-stage treatment works" which is "optimised because of the algae in the lough" meaning that the difference in the water that is in Lough Neagh and the water that comes from the tap “is massive”.

The Stormont Executive approved a 37-point action plan for the future of Lough Neagh in July.

It said the complaints began in August 2023 and it is confident that as the algae disperses for the winter the taste will return to normal.