More than a year after politicians at Stormont approved an action plan to tackle toxic algae on Lough Neagh, it's back with a vengeance.
Sinn Féin and the DUP have been accused of hindering efforts to tackle the annual outbreaks in the lough, which supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's drinking water.
Large blooms of blue-green algae once again stretch along much of the shoreline of the largest freshwater lake in Ireland and Britain. At 400sq.km it's larger than the island of Malta.
The algae is so thick in places it looks like paint has been poured onto rocks and sand.
At Battery Harbour, near the village of Toome in Co Antrim, there's a covering of stagnant, highly toxic blue algae.
Several boats normally used for fishing or recreational purposes are tied up with no one venturing out into the water.
The eel fishing season has been cancelled, with local fishermen saying there is no market for anything caught in the lough.
Tourism has been badly hit with a number of businesses along the shoreline unable to function because of the algae.
The water at Battery Harbour looks - and smells - dreadful. It's difficult to convey just how bad the smell was when cameraman Peter Doherty and I visited the harbour for RTÉ News during the week.
There was an intense, constant stench that at times triggered an urge to be sick, and I'm someone with a notoriously bad sense of smell.
Just as we arrived John Arrowsmith and his wife were leaving in their campervan. They'd had enough.
Originally from Plymouth they've lived in Enniskillen for the past two years and had travelled to the lough shore for a few days holiday, but their plans quickly changed.
"It's absolutely disgusting," he told me.
"I was parked up last night and a local came down and said it's the worst he's seen it for many years. He lives half a mile away and can actually smell it in his house.
"We've decided that the smell is just too much, it's not nice. It's ok when you're inside the van but when the weather's nice you don't want to stay in your van all the time but if you go outside you don't want the smell either so, you know, like a lot of people we'll just turn and go elsewhere."
Tiarna Keenan brought her two children and friends to play in the area where she herself grew up and was shocked by what they found.
"I took them camping for a wee adventure before they have to go back to school," she says.
"In the past they would have gone in for a swim but there's nobody even going near the sand at the moment.
"The smell is awful, I don't know how toxic it is but I'm worried about it. It doesn't smell good and it can't be good for you.
"It's sad because it is a beautiful area. When the weather's nice everywhere is nice, but sadly this isn't nice."
Stormont's Environment Minister Andrew Muir visited the Lough shore at Ballyronan during the week.
As he walked along the green coloured sand he watched as ducks struggled to move through thick sludge.
He visited the area last year along with Stormont's First Minister Michelle O'Neill of Sinn Féin and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP, whose parties pledged to do everything they could to tackle what they called an environmental crisis.
The minister is furious that in June, Sinn Féin and the DUP blocked a consultation process on a plan to reduce the level of nutrients flowing into the lough, one of the key causes of the algae.
Many farmers had criticised the plan, saying it unfairly targeted them.
"I feel let down. People need to match their words with actions," he said.
"I mean, look at the state of this. It's not only affecting our nature and biodiversity but 40% of our drinking water comes from Lough Neagh.
"This is a critical issue, we are in a national emergency in relation to Lough Neagh and political parties need to step up to that and back me on the actions that are required. I feel like in recent months my hands have been tied behind my back because I have not had the support needed."
So far just 14 of 37 recommendations in the Stormont action plan have been completed.
The manager of an organisation established to manage and protect the lough says politicians need to deliver on promises made.
"I am frustrated in terms of the Stormont government," said Gerry Darby, manager of the Lough Neagh Partnership.
"Lough Neagh is one of the top priorities, as in the Programme for Government for Northern Ireland, so if it's a priority it should receive priority in terms of policy and in terms of finance and the reality is it hasn't done that.
"At the end of the day the majority of people in Stormont are not agreeing to address this problem once and for all.
"I think sometimes politicians forget that the majority of people who live in rural areas are not farmers and aren't landowners. They're plumbers, they're nurses, they're teachers, they're doctors, they're just like other people, they're the people who drink the water, and people who live in Belfast drink the water.
"Sometimes all of those people are forgotten about and their voices aren't listened to as much as they should be."
