An investigation is underway to find the cause of an oil spill on Lough Erne which has the potential to cause damage to the aquatic environment.

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) suspects that used engine oil from car maintenance has caused this pollution incident, 30 metres away from a swan's nest, and has warned that engine oil should never be poured down household or road drains or thrown into the bin.

“The water had the texture of paint it was that thick,” reported RSPB reserve operative Peter Taylor, from Kilmacormick. Mr. Taylor moors his boat at Loughview Drive and he was about to set off on a fishing trip at 8.30am on Saturday when he discovered the oil spill. 

“The wind was blowing towards the shore so I smelt the oil as I approached the boat. I’ve got that whiff before but when I got to the boat I realised this spill was a lot worse,” said Mr. Taylor. “The wind blowing in towards the shore actually contained the spill the that area, rather than pushing it out across the water.”

Mr. Taylor is also Chairman of the Devenish Wildfowlers and Conservation Club. He spends seven days a week on Lough Erne and knows the waterways like the back of his hand. “I’ve seen bits of oil here and there before but nothing as bad as this,” he stated.

“A storm drain has been running into the water at that point for over 20 years. All the rain water from the streets, the silt and whatever rubbish people throw on the ground or into the drains makes its way into that storm drain and ultimately into Lough Erne. That has caused a mound to build up on the shore over time.” 

Mr. Taylor immediately phoned the pollution hotline number advertised on the back of his fishing licence only to get an automated message telling him their open hours were Monday-Friday, nine to five. He called in a few environmental contacts and an NIEA operative was soon on his way to Enniskillen from Ballycastle. Mr. Taylor spent the day helping the man clean up the oil spill. “It’s a big area for wildfowl: mallard ducks, swans, water hens and grey crested grebes,” he said.

According to Mr. Taylor “if that ground is contaminated, I’d imagine it would need to be cut out to be decontaminated.”

The NIEA operative also noticed raw sewage in the area, highlighted by a film of grey sludge on the rushes. The storm drain is close to a combined sewer overflow at Kilmacormick Wastewater Pumping Station that has caused sewage pollution on this stretch of water in the past. The Impartial Reporter recently highlighted that there are 22 combined sewer overflows located on the shores of Lough Erne, which pump raw sewage into the Lough during periods of extreme wet weather.

Mr. Taylor continued: “It’s hard to say how many gallons of oil were spilled. It doesn’t take a lot of oil to make a big mess. There was serious rain around 4am on Saturday morning. You’d often see a river effect down Corban Avenue during heavy rain – that all makes its way into the storm drain.”
 “It’s the general water quality and the wider environmental impact that is the big issue here. You hear the tourism chiefs describing Lough Erne as ‘the jewel in the crown’ – let’s just say it hasn’t got any worse, but it hasn’t got any better. You would not get away with this in England.”

A Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) spokesman said: “On Saturday, May 21 Northern Ireland Environment Agency staff deployed booms and absorbent sheets to contain the spill and soak up the oil. An investigation is now ongoing to determine the source of the pollution and to stop any further oil escaping into Lough Erne. Once the source has been established and the cause of the pollution has been identified a clean-up plan will be drawn up.

“The oil, which has the appearance of used engine oil, can cause damage to the aquatic environment because of the substances contained in it. Used engine oil from car maintenance should be taken to an oil bank for recycling and these will be found at most civic amenity sites. Used engine oil should never be poured down household or road drains and should never be thrown into the bin." 

The NIEA Water Pollution Hotline is open 24/7: 0800 807 060 or by email on Emergency-Pollution@daera-ni.gov.uk.