To ask the Minister for Infrastructure, with reference to findings from a recent study of untreated water samples from five waterways in Northern Ireland, conducted by the Agri-food and Biosciences Institute and Imperial College London, to detail any treatment that is carried out to remove traces of pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs from water supplied as drinking water.

The treatment of the drinking water supply is an operational matter for NI Water; however, I have sought the information requested.

NI Water has advised that it applies the drinking water safety planning approach in assessing the risks for contaminants in the raw water sources used for the abstraction at water treatment works. NI Water has multibarrier treatment processes in place at water treatment works to remove contaminants and reduce the risk to the treated drinking water supply to consumers. NI Water has advised that studies on drinking water treatment for the removal of pharmaceuticals show that water treatment processes such as ozonation and activated carbon, which are treatment processes undertaken by NI Water, are effective for the removal of pharmaceuticals.