Nine in 10 people said water pollution was a very serious problem

Friends of the Earth said eight out of 10 people it questioned criticised how the authorities dealt with water pollution and illegal dumping.

A total of 962 people across Northern Ireland were surveyed in the poll by the environmental lobby group.

Friends of the Earth has called on the government to set up an Environmental Protection Agency.

It said its findings would make "uncomfortable reading" for the Department of the Environment.

Lisa Fagan of Friends of the Earth said the poll was a "useful barometer" of public opinion.

People in Ballyclare, Bangor, Coleraine, Doagh, Dungannon, Larne and Portadown were approached.

"The good news is that 98% of respondents feel that a clean environment is either 'very important' or 'quite important,' " Ms Fagan said.

'Serious concerns'

"More worrying is their assessment of the health of our environment: 90% feel that our water pollution problem is either 'very serious' or 'quite serious', while 92% describe illegal dumping as 'very serious' or 'quite serious'."

The group said very few people knew how to report a water pollution incident or an illegal dump site.

Just 21% of those interviewed were able to identify the Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) as the body responsible for controlling water pollution.

Ms Fagan said it was evident that this led to delays and under reporting of pollution incidents in a country where raw sewage was still being discharged into the sea and where there were many illegal landfill sites.

Anglers were worried about possible future fish kills

On 7 April, anglers warned that a disused dump once used by a County Antrim council was threatening fish stocks in local streams and rivers.

Fishermen said toxic liquid has been streaming from the base of a disused landfill into ditches and streams around the River Inver near Larne.

The landfill closed because it was illegal to dump household waste there.

The Environment and Heritage Service, part of the DOE, said at that time that it had no immediate concerns about the site.

Friends of the Earth is one of nine environmental groups pushing for a new Environmental Protection Agency with responsibility for pollution control.

The groups have called on Environment Minister Angela Smith to initiate a review of environmental governance.