To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs whether the testing of water in the lower Bann is carried out on a regular basis to ensure harmful chemicals and toxins are not present in the waterways.

My Department undertakes monitoring across four sites of the Lower Bann under The Water Environment (Water Framework) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017. Monthly or quarterly monitoring is undertaken for 29 chemicals and trace metals. During each six-year River Basin Plan cycle, additional monitoring is undertaken each month for a twelve month period. This additional testing looks for a wide range of pollutants that are considered potential threats to water quality. During 2023 ad-hoc monitoring was also undertaken to verify the presence of Blue/Green algae.