Representatives from various organisations and stakeholders appreciated the opportunity to learn about the journey water takes from source to tap. NI Water staff, including scientists, environmentalists and water process technicians, were present to demonstrate the behind-the-scenes processes involved in water purification and safety.
NI Water's new Quality Water campaign emphasises the crucial, often invisible role that scientists and water quality experts play in maintaining the high standards of water throughout the year.
Dr Sara Venning, NI Water Chief Executive, commented: "Moyola Water Treatment Works is here on the shores of Lough Neagh, it abstracts the raw water from Lough Neagh and then treats it. We wanted to show people just how robust our treatment processes are. When people see firsthand all the treatment stages that go in to producing drinking water, they can take great comfort that the water in the taps in their houses is of really high quality and very safe to drink."
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William Irvine, President of the Ulster Farmers Union who visited the Moyola Treatment works, stated: "It's mind blowing to think 19 million litres of water a day are going through this small treatment plant. I learnt that I can have confidence in my tap water today and that has been a great reassurance to me. The processes I witnessed today were very thorough, very securely monitored and it came across as very safe."
Andrew Corkhill, from the National Trust and Lough Neagh Partnership, said: "My favourite part was meeting some of the people in the background ensuring that we all have clean drinking water including the water scientists talking through the various different processes - making sure our water is of a high quality before it gets to our taps."
Michael Bell OBE from the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association stated: "It's a multi-stage process, and that means that there is layer after layer of process and that is very encouraging. As someone that works in the food and drinks industry that is something we understand. Layers of safety, layers of controls and that those controls are professionally operated and contained."
David Cromie from Public Health Agency spoke on the partnership between NI Water and PHA, he said: "PHA works very closely with our NI Water colleagues to protect public health and to reassure the population of Northern Ireland on a daily basis. We are very confident about the high quality of water that is here in Northern Ireland."
Denise Johnson, a representative for SDLP enjoyed the tour around the Moyola Treatment works saying: "I think the most important thing about this tour today was the reassurance that I got in terms of the processes that the water goes through to ensure the quality of the water that we are drinking. There was a lot of concern last year about our drinking water and a lot of questions being asked, I suppose we were all very ignorant to what does go on, so I found this very reassuring today and I feel confident drinking water from the tap."
