Local MLA and councillor George Savage said: "Following a visit to the Closet River near where it flows into Lough Neagh I was appalled to note the foul state of the River due to the discharge of effluent from the nearby Ballinacor Sewage Works.
"During my visit to the Closet River I met with some of the local farmers whose lands border the river and they expressed their serious concerns at the dangerous polluted state of the river which is a danger to both humans and animals.

"I have repeatedly drawn my concerns on this river to the attention of the Borough Council and to the Water Service over a number of years, all to no avail leaving this river to become more and more polluted."

Mr Savage said the river flows into Lough Neagh and adds to the considerable pollution which the Lough suffers from this and the other polluted rivers which flow into it from all around the Lough.

He went on: "I am also concerned that the water supplied to and used by households over a large area of Northern Ireland is extracted from Lough Neagh and this could be putting the health of a large part of the population of our Province at risk.

"I am of the opinion the sewage discharge from the Treatment Works at Ballinacor and from other Treatment Works around the Lough occurs, due in no small measure, to the increase in new Developments throughout Northern Ireland without a corresponding increase in Sewage Treatment facilities and until this is properly addressed pollution of our rivers and of Lough Neagh will continue.

"It will cost considerable millions of pounds to update Treatment Works to alleviate this problem but some effort needs to be made to start to address the problem and I think that planning approval for any new development, be that commercial or housing, must make it a condition of approval that provision for sewage treatment be provided by the Developer for all sewage, waste and surface water drainage to an acceptable level before discharge into the Public Sewers.

"This would result in properly treated waste being discharged into public sewers and a reduction in the level of additional treatment required at Sewage treatment works. This is not a complete answer to the problem but at least it would go some way to start to address the problem."