THE NORTH:POLITICAL PRESSURE was growing last night on Northern Ireland Water and on the Stormont Executive to respond to the crisis which has left tens of thousands in the North without clean water.
There were unprecedented scenes as hundreds of people with plastic containers lined up at dozens of temporary supply points across the province for water rations.
A ferry from Scotland carrying 160,000 litres of bottled water was due in Larne, Co Antrim last night, courtesy of the Scottish government.
NI Water, the sole provider of water and sewage services, said it was working non-stop to repair the series of burst mains, damaged in the sudden thaw after a week of freezing temperatures which saw record lows of -18 degrees.
Stormont Ministers meet later today to discuss a response to the breakdown of normal water services which has resulted in cuts and planned interruptions to supplies in some 80 areas in all six counties.
The First Minister and Deputy First Minister said they were alarmed by NI Water’s inability to cope with the effects of this month’s severe weather on the already creaking water and sewerage infrastructure.
“Our officials have been in daily contact with NI Water and the Civil Contingencies Group was operational over the Christmas period,” Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness said.
“Given the difficulties that are apparent we have decided, as an Executive, to look at how the response to the current situation can be improved.” They said NI Water’s response “was clearly inadequate” and Ministers “are now looking urgently at what further measures can be taken to alleviate the problems people are facing”.
Civil servants have been redeployed to NI Water in a bid to ease the worsening crisis and to help communicate with frustrated customers, some of whom have been without water for 12 days.
“At our request, officials spoke overnight to NI Water and we have now sent Civil Service staff to provide support in their call centre. We have also asked the head of the Civil Service to continue to work with the Civil Contingencies Group in advance of the Executive to discuss the emergency response. As priority we have asked that group to look at how communication to the public can be improved,” Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness said.
As public anger mounted at the escalating crisis SDLP Assembly Public Accounts Committee member John Dallat called on the NI Water chief executive to resign and on Sinn Féin’s Conor Murphy “to seriously reflect on his own personal position”.
The East Derry Assembly member said: “Any organisation responsible for the delivery of vital services to the public has a contingency plan ready to put into operation in the event of an emergency. It is clear that NIW had no plan and no idea of how to deal with the public who are hopping mad with the lack of basic information about water supplies.” There was also criticism from other parties.
For the Ulster Unionists Sir Reg Empey said: “It is now essential to have a full inquiry into this mess so that lessons can finally be learned from this emergency.” He added: “We have failed to learn the lessons from previous emergencies.”