Working with Belfast City Council

The agency arrangements for the Group Environmental Health and Belfast City Council field staff were set up in 1973. Originally nine qualified Environmental Health Rivers Officers (EHROs) were employed.

Today the same basic structure and arrangements are still in place except that staff numbers employed has increased and the background of the staff has changed to a scientific one rather than environmental health.

These staff are known as Water Quality Inspectors (WQIs).

We employ Water Quality Inspectors (WQIs) to carry out work on our behalf. The main activities of the EHROs / WQIs are to:

• Investigate reports of pollution of a non-agricultural nature and collate evidence of pollution offences

• Make visits to industrial sites and offer pollution prevention advice

• Take waste samples from agreed discharge points for industrial consent monitoring

• Monitor sewage treatment works

• Provide advice on Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 industrial and domestic consent applications

• Initiate and supervise clean-up work following water pollution incidents.